Broken
by KiKi-chan127131
Summary: A year ago he left this world. A year ago he took apart of me with him. Until a year after no one was there to put it back but now someone wants her to be unbroken.
1. Broken Hearts

**Yola mina! This is KiKi-chan with another story for yuh! I hope you like it. I wrote it a while back but never posted it cause I didn't think you guys would like it. Anywho I hope you like it.**

**Chapter 1**

**Broken Hearts**

It was a cold windy day with the pregnant grey clouds towering over the school, threatening to burst any minute. I looked out the window and watched the trees sway to and fro as if dancing for some happy reason. Today was anything but a happy day. I just wanted it to end.

The clock on the wall, which never lies, said that I only had fifteen minutes until the school day was over. This day always does this to me, the tenth of October.

"Today he would have been sixteen." I stated in a whisper.

"What did you say Pinky?" asked the most annoying boy in the school who also happens to sit next to me.

"Nothing chicken butt." I sighed.

"Are you sur-"

_RING!_

He was cut off by the bell.

I packed my bag and bolted out of the classroom before any fangirl tried to kill me. Why you might ask? Because Chicken Butt was also known as the most popular guy in school, Sasuke Uchiha.

Although we've been attending the same schools since the second grade and we were always at each others' throat like two lions fighting over a slab of meat. But never the less, he and I were friends.

As I walked down the street I wondered what kind of flowers to buy '_him'_.

"Maybe I'll buy some lilies or white rose." I thought to myself.

"Who are you talking to Pinky? Casper the friendly ghost?"

"Ha ha ha, very funny Chicken Butt." I said dryly walking away until Sasuke grabbed my hand.

"Well lately you've been acting weird." He sounded worry though it didn't show on his face.

I yanked my hand away from him, "Because I can and who do you think you are grabbing my hand like that?."

Sasuke ran his hand through his hair which is usually an action he takes when he's trying to find a way to say something. " No I mean you've been acting weirder than usual since last year." He sighed " You're no fun when you're like this. Later hater." He said walking down the street.

"I don't hate on losers!" I shouted hoping he could hear me from the distance. Shortly after I enter home, I realized that what I shouted to Sasuke was _really_ stupid.

Even though my house may not be as big as some of the people I go to school with, it is big enough for me and my parents. My room is very spacious and is painted in baby blue. I put my book bag on my desk and sat in my chair. I lifted my hand to play with my dragonfly pendant only it wasn't there. I patted my chest, there was nothing there. I looked for my silver chain that had a dragonfly with green gems down the tail. I searched high and low but couldn't find it anywhere.

"Where could it be?" I yelled.

In a matter of minutes my room looked like a typhoon passed by. Clothes were thrown all over the place and shoes were scattered across the floor. I changed out of my school uniform, into a plain black t-shirt with a navy blue fade away jeans and a pair of black low top converse and headed out of the door telling myself that I simply miss placed the thing I've been wearing since the day I got it.

I was walking to the _Yamanaka's_ _Flower Shop_ when I saw Sasuke hanging out with some of his friends… holding my chain in his hand.

I marched up to him, not caring that his friends were there and said, "Where did you that chain?"

"A store, duh!" Sasuke replied.

I gripped on to the front of Sasuke's shirt collar "Don't get smart with me Uchiha! I know you took it out of my bag."

Sasuke leaned closer to my face with a smirk plastered on his face, "And whatcha gonna do about it?" he questioned playfully dangling the chain in front of me.

"I said, give. It. Back!" I yelled tackling Sasuke to the ground.

"What the hell Pinky!" Sasuke shouted as he tried to stop me from getting the chain from him.

Sasuke's friends watched in amazement, cheering him on as we both tugged at the chain. Feeling the chain firmly in my hand, I pulled with all my might. Either I had pulled it too hard or Sasuke's grip was slipping because the chain flew out of our hands and into the overgrown grass of someone's lawn. The group of boys left except for Sasuke.

I got up and walked over to the patch of over grown grass, got on my hands and knees and began looking vigorously for my chain.

'_It's the only thing I have left…I can't lose it now…not today.'_

I heard someone walking towards me but I didn't have to look up to see who it was. I figured if I ignored him long enough he would get the message that I didn't want to talk to him or be anywhere near him for that matter. But of course, this was the most annoying boy in the world I'm talking about here so he did what I didn't want him to do. Sasuke sat down next to me.

"Is there something more you want from my pitiful excuse of a life?"

"Nah, you can keep your soul, I'll get the reaper to collect it later."

"If you're going to sit here and make fun of me, I'm not in the mood."

Sasuke sighed and without even looking I knew he was running his hand through his hair again.

"Look,I just wanna know why that chain is so important to you. I mean I could just buy you a new one since you obviously won't find it in this." He said gesturing to the wild grass around us.

I stopped looking in the grass and faced Sasuke.

"I can't just replace that chain, it belonged to him."Sasuke remained quite so I continued to speak." His name was …Naruto and he was my best friend. I loved him…but I never had the guts to tell him…and then the next thing I knew I never would get to tell him because he die and left me all alone."

That was the first time I ever told anyone about how I felt about Naruto's passing. Not even my parents knew. At that exact moment it began to rain heavily but I didn't care. A part of me wanted the rain to wash away the feelings I had and let me move on with my life but I knew that wouldn't happen, not as long as I still loved Naruto.

"Sakura? Sakura?" Sasuke called my name repeatedly, trying to get me to stand on my feet. "Sakura, come on. I gotta get you home."

"But I need to find it." I pleaded.

"No. I will now have you looking in the rain for some necklace and catch the cold_ which_ you will blame me for tomorrow." Sasuke said sternly.

"It is _not_ just some necklace." I glared at him, trying to stop my teeth from chattering.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at what I can only guess was me shivering, got up and began to stretch before he kneeled before me in the muddy ground with his back facing me. I looked at him in confusion.

"Just get on Pinky, I know you can't get up even if you wanted to."

I could feeling heat racing to my cheeks and was grateful that Sasuke couldn't see me. I crawled on to his back and wrapped my legs around his waist and put my hands around his neck.

"You comfortable?" Sasuke asked.

I could feel the vibrations as he spoke.

"Yea" I replied softly.

"Warmer than before?"

I nodded my head.

"Good. We'll be at your house in a couple of minutes." After he said that he began to jog to my house.

I could feel as Sasuke inhaled and exhale with each step. He hair smelt like green mint and I couldn't help myself. I inhale it's intoxicating fumes and sighed happily as I exhaled.

"Uh Sakura?" Sasuke cleared his throat.

"Yes Sasuke?" I answer sweetly.

"Could you please stop smelling my hair?"

"But Chicken Butt, you know I love the way you smell especial when you wear that gravity cologne."

"If I didn't know that you weren't a fangirl, I would be _really_ crept out right now." He commented.

We arrived in a matter of minute at my front door. It was hard for me to get off on Sasuke's back and it wasn't because he was a head taller than me but because I would lose his body warmth. When I was on my own two feet I realized that Sasuke's cheeks were tinted pink. I automatically raised my hand to his forehead.

"Yikes! You're on fire!" I remarked.

"What can I say…I'm hot." Sasuke replied.

I opened the front door quickly and tugged on Sasuke's hand " Come inside and get warmed up."

Sasuke gently removed my hand from his and shook his head "Sorry but I have to go home, my mom is most likely calling the police right now to file a missing person's report. So I'll see you tomorrow. Bye."

I watched as Sasuke ran back into the rain and away from my house. It was only until I took a shower and changed my clothes that I remember that I was to go and visit Naruto. I was tempted to go back out into the rain but it was already dark outside.

I kneeled at the side of my bed and began to pray

"Hi Naruto. I'm sorry I couldn't visit you today but I promise it won't happen again. I know that if it was me that had die, you would have gone to see me no matter what. I lose the necklace or as you call it, 'the dragonfly of maturity' that you gave me. I still don't get why you called it that though… but anyway I'll talk to you later I really tired. The first thing I'll do tomorrow is go and visit you and I look for the necklace tomorrow too. Night Naruto, I love you."

**_To Be Continued…_**

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**_So… what did you think? Did you like it? I hope you did. Anywho why don't you review and tell me what you think…that is if you want me to write more._**

**_Until next time people_**

**_Ja ne Mina! _**


	2. Shattered Image

**Yo Yo Yola mina! I'm happy to see that some of you like the story so far s****o I wrote some more just for you.**

** but first I'd like to thank ChibiVampireQueen for being the first person to review my story so far! **

**Thank you!**

**Chapter 2**

**Shattered Image**

_The night was silent and the only thing I could hear was the light sound of Naruto's snoring from the sleeping bag on the floor . I looked at him with a smile, relived to know that he was safe. Even if it was just for the moment. I could feel my eyes beginning to shut down on me as I drifted to the land of nod._

_Ding Dong!_

_"Naruto! Don't you know I was lookin fer you!" someone shout in a slurred voice._

_It didn't take much more than that for me to know who it was. The only person who would stand outside of my house at two in the morning yelling for Naruto to come outside…_

_Ding Dong!_

_Din-din-din-din-din-din Dong_

_"Get out here you fucking little snot!"_

_…was his father._

_I could see Naruto beginning to get up to his feet but I gripped onto him tightly, preventing him from doing what he did best; go to his father's beck and call. Naruto simply looked at me know what I was going to say next._

_"Sakura, you know if I don't go now he's only going to stay outside and cause more of a scene." Naruto said coolly without giving me the chance to speak first._

_I pulled him into a hug. "No Naruto-kun, I won't let go home with him when he's like this."_

_I could feel tears trickling down my cheeks._

_"Don't make me come in there for you Naruto!" His father yelled as he banged on the door. _

_Too bad for us my parents weren't home to send him on his drunkard way home. _

_Naruto ran his hand through my hair, trying but failing to stop me from crying._

_"Sakura-chan, I have to go. I don't want him to hurt you. If he even did anything to hurt you I would kill him." He said softly into my pink hair. "I'll be okay, there's no need to worry."_

_I backed away to look him in the eye, which shined bright even in the moonlight hoping he would hear me out. "But I don't want you to go…"_

_He kissed me on the forehead ,"I'll be fine. Here," I felt him put something into my hand "Hold onto this for me. Think of it as… collateral. "_

I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock which could only mean one thing. I was dreaming. I rose out of my bed and proceed to get ready for school. The only thing missing that would make my day normal was my necklace.

The morning air was as cold as it was last night which would make sense if it was still raining. The walk to the cemetery wasn't as long as it use to be. After the first couple of months it became less pain to walk to Naruto's grave. I could tell that someone visited his grave yesterday, as it was clean and had flowers as yellow as his hair in the mold that was made to hold flowers. I couldn't help but to smile.

_'People still remember you Naruto.'_

"I put the flowers there for you yesterday when I saw that you weren't coming." Someone said from behind me.

Not knowing who the voice belonged to, I looked behind me to see who it was. I was at a lost for word.

"Naruto?" was the only thing I could utter.

"I'm sorry I can't hear you what did you say?" said the young man who remained me so much of Naruto yet looked the complete opposite of him.

The boy before me had light brown hair and the loveliest shade of green I have ever seen. The clothes he wore didn't even come close to what Naruto liked to a wear, which consisted of oranges and black. He had on blue jeans and a green jersey that was a little darker than his eyes. I would have thought he was Naruto if it wasn't for the fact that he didn't have the three scars on each side of his cheek. I stood up and slowly approached him and he just stood there. I raise my hand up to his face and rubbed his cheek.

"Hey!" he jumped back, face beet red. "What the heck do you think you're doing? I don't know you like that!"

I was brought back to reality in an instant. I pulled back my hand as if he had burned me. I knew that I was blushing profoundly.

"Oh my gosh!" I gushed, "I'm so sorry! I don't usually do that… you just remind me of an old friend."

He raised his eyebrow. " you mean this Naruto guy?"

I looked at him as if he could read my mind. "How did you know?"

He rolled he eyes and let out a sigh, "You just said it like five minutes ago."

I looked down out of embarrassment and because I could continue to look him in the eye. They did something to me…

_'Get it together Sakura! He's not him! You just felt his cheek and there were no cat like scars! It was a smooth as silk.'_

"Um, are you okay?"

" Yeah I'm fine. I'm just.." I couldn't find the words to use to describe how I felt.

"Late." Was all he said.

"Late?" I repeated.

"Yeah, your late for school…I think." He scratched his head.

"Oh crap!"I looked at my watch and sure enough he was right. I _was_ late for school but if I leave right now I would still make it before the second bell rang.

"I really am sorry!" I yelled over my shoulder as I made a mad dash for the front gate. I didn't even wait to see if he accepted my apology. I didn't even ask him for his name. Right there and then I knew I wouldn't ever get the chance to see him again _'or Naruto.' _I added silently.

I made it in the nick of time. It turned out that I ran so fast that the first bell didn't even ring yet. I did a little victory dance all the way down the hall way to my first period class, Homeroom. As usual or I should say what had become the norm, Kakashi-sensei wasn't there. I took my seat next to Sasuke who looked like he was sleeping. Which was weird but then again what about to day wasn't weird.

This was the first time in a long time I've seen Sasuke asleep during a class. His body was facing the window which happened to be next to my seat. If looks could kill I would be dead already from the glares I was receiving from Sasuke's fangirls. Life wasn't easy for me or Sasuke, for that matter.

It made sense why he was facing this direction. He fangirls would have died and gone to heaven to see him looking dare I say cute while he was sleeping but of course they thought he was up and just looking out the window like he always does. I smiled at how peaceful he looked.

Sasuke must have felt eyes on him because he opened his and glared darkly at me then he eyes softened and he went back to sleep when he saw that it was me.

_'Must have thought I was a fangirl.'_ I thought to myself.

"Wanna tell me why you're sleeping?" I asked him.

The only reply that I got was an object, my necklace.

And the only thing i could think about when i saw it were Naruto's words.

_Think of it as… collateral._

**_To Be Continued…_**

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**_I know what you are think but trust me i'm not tell you guys what's going anytime soon so you'll just have to wait and read to find out more! In the mean time leave me some reviews so I'll know what you're thinking._**

**_Until next time people_**

**_Ja ne Mina! _**


	3. Tie Breaker

**Yola mina! It's me again here with another chapter! I'm sorry if you think that things are progressing slowly but it's all for a good valid reason. i just can't tell you yet. Bear with me.**

**Chapter 3**

**Tie Breaker**

It felt good to have my necklace back even if Sasuke had to sacrifice his sleep to find it. No skin off my back but it still didn't make sense to me why he did what he did…

_I looked at Sasuke in shock._

_"It that really why you're so tired Chicken Butt?" I said in awe._

_"Hn." He replied groggily._

_"You do know that hn isn't word right? And if it is one I don't know what it means."_

_Sasuke kept his eyes shut and remarked, "After I left your house I went back and looked for you necklace and when I found it I went home, crashed on my bed, slept for three hour because I was rudely awaken by my favorite person in the world, Itachi ." I knew he was being sarcastic because he hated his older brother with a passion. " and had to come to school."_

_"No duh Sherlock! That doesn't explain why you did it."_

_Sasuke proceed to sit up. Clearly I was ruining his beauty sleep. _

_ Onyx eyes met my emerald ones. _

_His eyes never left my mine as he spoke."I did it because..."but then he pause and the determination that I was once hearing began to fade._

_"Because…" I egged him on, showing him that I wanted to know._

_"Because. I did it because." He said in a rush. _

_'That little twrep didn't make any sense _'or so I was convinced. The conversation I had with Sasuke left me mystified. The way he looked at me, left me wondering if he did it because he really does care about me.

"Think fast Pinky." said person shouted from across the cafeteria.

I didn't even bother to take Sasuke on and I learnt the hard way that maybe just maybe I should stop thinking that there is good in people.

My usual plain pink hair now had red highlights thanks to Sasuke and that little stunt he pulled in the lunchroom. For the rest of the day I had to walking round the school in clothes I got from my **_Hey, shit happens!_** kit. Looking back on it now, it's because of Naruto that I have such a thing. I could feel the smile spreading across my face at the memory. Image of Naruto's face was replaced with the boy's from the cemetery.

_'Who was he anyway?'_ was the question that haunted my mind for the rest of the day but there was no way of knowing who he was unless…

There was not a soul in sight as I stood in the cemetery after school. Well living and breathing anyway. My bright thinking had failed me once again. Of course the Naruto doppelganger would not be here, waiting for me to return so we could have a decent conversation and find out each others' names. A part of me really wanted to see him again.

My eyes softened, 'He_ looked so much like him…' _

Yet at the same time I knew that it could not have been him. There was no way. They acted different. Naruto was more bubbly and childlike where as this other guy was...I don't know what he was. We only had one conversation and it was about nothing really. The true question was how different were they from each other.

With nothing left to do I walked down the paved concrete pathway. I could feel tears flowing out on my eyes like a waterfall. Sometimes I cry for the dead, who died too young, too fast. There was no reason to explain it, I just did. Whenever I felt like this the only place I could think to go where I could be alone with my thoughts was the park.

This park has always been the place for me to go and think about my problems or life. I would talk to myself aloud, though it seemed crazy… it did help. Whenever I didn't know what to do, I would always know the answer afterward. It would hit me like a tsunami and leave like an earthquake, with an aftershock and this time was no different.

People weren't lying when they say life throws you a curve ball.

"Sakura, what are you doing out here at this hour?" a police officer asked me.

I looked around wondering what he was talking about, it was still light out, or so I thought. I blamed my favorite spot in the park for making me lose track of daylight. The bench under the oak tree always guaranteed the best shade from rain or sunshine.

Now normal when a police officer approaches anyone it is either for one of three things. One, you were caught red handed for committing or assisting in a crime or two, you looked like you're up to no good or three, you're the one that called them in the first place. I was neither one, two, or three. Instead I was number four, friend of the younger brother.

" Thinking." I answered, looking at the young man standing before me, with a flashlight held to my face.

Everyone in town knew who Itachi Uchiha was. Not only because he's Sasuke's good looking older brother but because he manage to successful become a lieutenant at the age of twenty-one. He was the knight that most girls dreamed of to come and rescue them. '_How lucky was I to be the damsel in distress?' _I thought sarcastically.

"Does your thinking have anything to do with my little brother?" he asked as he took off the blinding light.

I was greatful he turn off the flash light. There was no way I wanted him to see my blushing face.

" No." i answered in what i was sure was a disgusted voice.

"Really now? Then why did you blush when I asked? I can see your face you know."

I was speechless.

"Sakura you should know that despite how Sasuke acts in school toward you and your classmate, he really does care. I'm always telling him that it's okay to show his emotions but he's too thick headed to listen." Itachi explained.

I knew what Itachi was saying was true but it was still hard to believe that Sasuke really cares. Half of the time…correction, _most_ of the time he's being an egotistical jerk and here is his brother trying to convince me otherwise.

_'Why do I care if Sasuke cares or not?'_ I asked myself.

"Sakura it's getting later, you should go home." Itachi suggested, more like commanded.

"Yeah, you're right I should." I replied and I got up from the bench and did a few stretches to work out the kinks in my body.

Itachi stood up as well "I'll drive you home, I don't want to see a missing person's report with your name on it."

People say that Itachi and Sasuke are different but that statement just proved that they are more alike than they think.

There is always a first time for everything including riding in a police car. Not that I haven't been in a car with Itachi already. After all he's the one that use to drive me home whenever Sasuke and I had to work on a project together. Without hesitation I jumped in to the front seat.

" I wonder what it feels like be on the other side of the fence?"

"You could sit in the back if you want," I looked completely mortified as he continued his sentence" I'll even put on the siren."

I slammed the front car door "Thanks but no thanks."

The drive home was quiet but not the kind of quiet that made you wish the radio was on to the maximum volume playing some popular song that could fill the deafening silent instead it was a peaceful silent that make you feel like taking a deep breath and slowly exhale as you look at the scenery as you pass by. To me Itachi always had this presence unlike his brother who had an unbearable one. Being around Sasuke puts me on edge and I would always get this gut feeling, similar to the one I was getting now.

There stood a boy, holding a basketball under his arm, staring at us. Itachi rolled the car into a slow halt. For the life of me I couldn't understand why my heart was beating so fast, why the car was suddenly getting warm when the air condition was on and why life kept throwing these curve balls at me.

I saw Sasuke's face, a smirk clearly present as he pressed against my window, looking at me. "Well if it isn't my two favorite people, Pinky and Casper, not you Itachi."

I rolled my eyes at his immaturity. Leave it to me to know when Sasuke's around.

Itachi rolled down my window to talk to Sasuke, "What are you doing out so late, little brother? Don't you know good little children should be at home?" he hinted.

Sasuke glared at him," Explains why pinky's in the car." He snorted as he thought of his next remark, " What did she do?"

"Actually I was just carrying her home because I know you wouldn't be able to live with yourself if anything happened to her while she was walking home." He teased.

I heard Sasuke open the back door and slip into the cop car. "Shut up!" he hissed.

It was funny how defensive Sasuke could be sometimes and the car ride was defiantly one of those times. Sasuke bickered with Itachi for the rest of the ride and I was beginning to think that maybe the deafening silent would be better than this.

"Well it's better than the time you shot the lights off!" Itachi

" That was totally uncalled for, I was young!" Sasuke retorted.

"Sasuke that was last month." Itachi pointed out

I could hear venom in his voice as he said" At least it's better than the time _you _shot the_ –"_

"Enough the both of you!" I bellowed." I've had it up to here," I point it the roof, "with the two of you! I was better off walking home and taking my chance with a serial killer."

The boys were quiet.

"But he started it." Sasuke whined.

I glared at Sasuke, who was pouting, "if I hear another peep out of _either_" I looked at the itachi, who chose to stop smirk at the sight of my beast face," of you there will be hell to pay. Yuh dig?"

"A tunnel." They mumbled.

We pulled up to the front of the house and I said my goodbyes.

"Bye Itachi and thanks for the ride." I said with a smile.

"Anytime Sakura-chan." Itachi replied.

I tred to control my need to blus at the suffix he added to my name and bid farewell to Sasuke," Bye Chicken Butt. See you tomorrow." I beamed.

See yuh wouldn't wanna be yuh pinky." He said offhandedly.

There was a twitch in my smile. I could feel the urge to beat the bejesus out of him but vowed against it. I turned to walk away when Itachi called my name.

_'Why do Uchihas do that, wait til you walk away to say something important?'_

"Yeah?"

"Life does that to you so you'll keep batting and never give up." He stated as if it were the most obvious answer in the world and then drove off.

It took me a while, sadly to figure out what he was talking about but I got it.

_'When life throws you curve balls you keep swinging until you hit that ball right out of the park.'_

I closed my eyes and smile." Don't worry Naruto, I'll heal and be able to love again." and for some strange reason when I said that, I saw Sasuke's face as I drifted to sleep.

**_To Be Continued…_**

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**I really hope you all have been enjoying the story thus far because there is more to come which includes:**

** *more Sasuke Sakura moments**

** * the Naruto doopelganger**

** * lovely reviews for KiKi-chan (please?)**

** * more stupid saying like yuh dig a tunnel**

** *and much much more.**

**_Until next time people_**

**_Ja ne Mina! _**


	4. Dislocation

**Yola mina! It's me again here with another chapter! I'm sorry if you think that things are progressing slowly but it's all for a good valid reason. i just can't tell you yet. Bear with me.**

** Yola mina! I'm sure you guys are saying that there isn't enough Sasuke Sakura moments happening but I assure you that they WILL happen. There is a storyline in my head that must be followed in order to have these moments happen and to make them enjoyable and memorable. **

**Remember,**

**' Good things come to those that wait.'**

**Chapter 4**

**Dislocation**

"Pinky, you ready to go?" Sasuke asked me as he held his bag over his shoulder in his hand.

"Yeah…wait ," I put my hand over my chest and felt an absence of something that should have been there. "no, I'm not. I forgot something in my locker."

He sighed, "Hn. As Scatterbrain as always I see." And began to walk out the almost empty class room.

"Am not!" I glared at his retreating figure.

Sasuke stopped, tilted his head back and flashed me a smirk, "Oh really now? So then where is your necklace?"

Over the past three weeks I've been going home with Sasuke thanks to Itachi thinking that it wasn't save for me, a girl to be walking home at five in afternoon. The reason for me going home so late these days was because of tutoring freshmens in mathematics, not that it was their fault or anything, I was the one to volunteer . Sometimes it didn't pay to be an Acounts' student. _'Especially when I have to go home with Sasuke every day.' _I added silently. He gave me a whole new reason to be afraid of motorcycles. I mean seriously what kind of school board allows their students to ride such health hazards to school? Oh,right…ours along with like hundreds of other school whose students have permits to do so. Then again, if we're allowed to put our hands behind the steering wheel, why not Harley handles?

The second floor hallway was like a ghost town, the only thing missing was the tumble weed rolling on its merry way. I made it to my locker and successfully retrieved my necklace before anything could jump out at me and had me running like Shaggy or Scooby-doo to the nearest exit. Everything felt right when I placed it around my neck but that didn't stop me from being careful. I took each step with caution and by caution I meant walking slowly with my **_Introduction into The Law of Physics _**textbook in hand ready to strike. I let out a sigh of relief as I made it the first floor in one pieces.

_'One more to go!' _I cheered mentally.

There was a sound of someone walking behind me or at least I hoped it was someone and not _something_. I took a double take and there was nothing there. This only made me move faster. As soon as I reached the stairwell I took off like a shot down the staircase. I never did like walking down or up here by myself and after thinking that there was something behind me, that didn't make me like it even less. I felt myself lose my footing and was heading face first into the steps; hopefully I wouldn't keep rolling down. A protective shield, no arms engulfed me, holding me tightly as I rolled down the flight of stairs. When the world stopped spinning I realized what happen.

The dude from the cemetery, saw that I was falling and drop the books he was holding to save me but he realized that he couldn't stop both of us from falling so he opted to protect me from getting most of the damaged.

"Excuse me" his green eyes on me as he continued to talk,"I'm sure you must be happy to be on top of me but really, there is a time and a place for that." He groaned.

I was so flustered that I couldn't even do that thing where I ramble about how clumsy I am and how sorry I am for what happen. I was too stun to do much of anything, that is until I heard him hiss in pain

"Oh my gosh I fractured something didn't I?" I panicked giving his body a once over.

"Umm, no. I probably dislocated my arm." He said offhandishly with a poker face on as he stood up. "No big deal."

I raised his left shirt sleeve up and saw that the skin around it was red. "No big deal huh?" I repeated as I gave him a you-gotta-be-kidding-me look. It was only then that I noticed how close I was to him. _'Why do I keep putting myself in these positions?'_ I mentally groaned. And the worst part was that he did nothing but stand and stare at me as if being so close to me did the same thing as being so close to him did to me. How I felt… I don't know _ho_w I felt. It was like my feelings were one of those abstract painting that looked like a five year-old could do it.

He pulled away, distancing himself, "Look, I gotta take these books to the library so if you don't mind," he side stepped me and proceed to pick up the books on the floor, "I'll be going now."

Despite what he said which was clearly a sign for me to leave, I helped him pick up the remaining books. "I know we don't know each other but there is no way I'm going to let you carry all these books to the library by yourself with a dislocated arm." Before he could protest I continued, " Plus I don't like being in debt to people."

He sighed which wasn't new as a lot of boys have been doing that whenever I talked. "Whatever" was his closing remark as he embarked up the stairs before me.

This time the walk to my distanation was not as bad as the last and I guess I had the boy next to me to thank for that. Only then did it dawn on me that we were walking around in school, my school, the school that I never see him in.

_'What is he doing here?'_

Maybe Sasuke was right about me being a scatterbrain. Here is the guyI've been looking for these past couple of weeks ,walking down my school hallway, with me. I was itching to ask him who he was, where he was from… why we keep on bouncing in to each other? There was no way of denying it, I'm curious.

"Sooo, " I said stretching the 'o' "just what are you doing here in my school?"

"Why is it that every time I met you, the first thing you do is ask me a question?"

"I do not!"

He stopped walking and gave me the 'yeah, right~' look.

"Okay so I'm curious. Got a problem?"

He continued walking. "Yeah I do, especially since you're minding my business."

I jogged to catch up to him, " I'm just asking a innocent question. No need to get so…defensive, unless you've got something to hide." I pointed out to him.

There was silence. No snappy comeback or any kind of remark. Which only meant one thing.

"Do you have something to hide?" I asked.

He let out another irritated sigh, clearly I was working on his last nerve "Do you always ask so many questions?" he asked harshly.

In no time at all we made it to the library where we put the load of books on the check-out table. After the scene that played off in the hallway, I chose to stay quite before I made our non-existing friendship even worse. Miss Kimiko, the school librarian was nowhere in sight. This rose worry in me as she would never leave the library door unlock when she wasn't in it. But the door _was _unlocked, therefore she must be here. I walked around the room looking for evidence of a struggle or something that could give me a clue as to where she could be.

"Anytime you're ready to leave, have me know so I could lock up unless you want to spend the night here by yourself."

I nearly jumped out of my skin by the sound of his voice. The only good that came out of the scare was that I got my answer. Miss Kimiko was not here. I turned around and walked out the door. He followed after me. I don't know where he got it but he pulled out a ring of keys from his pocket. It looked like the same one Mr. Chan, the janitor, has hanging on his waist. My mouth was open ready to ask '_How did you get that? _'. In that same split second I closed my mouth so I pretty much looked like a fish. Automatically I took a step forward, thinking that I was on leveled ground and not at the top of the stairs.

"Gotcha!" he said pulling me closer to him and away from the stairs.

I could hear him groaning in pain. When he was sure I had my balance he held on to his shoulder blade.

"This is gonna hurt like a bitch." He grumbled looking up to the sky as if preparing himself for the pain.

"What are you gonna do?" I asked with concern laced in my voice.

"Not right now George. " he said through gridded teeth.

_'George?'_

_POP!_

The bone popped back in to place. Just hearing it made me cringe. It almost made me forget that he called me George, almost.

"Fuck me running!" he cursed banging the wall

I took a step closer and raised his shirt sleeve. I could feel his eyes on me. His skin looked redder then before. I placed my hand over the redness to feel if he really did get it in the socket and sure enough he did. He let out a dreamy sigh and I knew exactly why. My hands were cold and clammy and to him my hands were an ice pack. I looked up to him, face tinted pink I was sure, thanks to the hot air he blow on me.

Whatever I wanted to say disappeared from my mind, they were lost the same way I was lost in his eyes. Now that I had a better look as him in the light I could see that his eyes were blue green.

"Am I interrupting something?" questioned a voice I knew all too well.

Standing at the bottom of the stairs was no other than my traveling companion, Sasuke, huffing and puffing as if he finished a marathon. His normally impassive expression gone as he looked at us, mostly the boy next to me. Sasuke's eyes betrayed his emotions more than the rest of his face did. His eyes were the coldest I have ever seen them. Looking at them made me feel as if I had done something wrong. The spot I was standing in felt as cold as his glare…

And his voice, "When you're done Sakura, meet me outside." Was as cold as ice.

With nothing more to say, Sasuke walked away leaving me alone with him once again. My gazed went from where Sasuke once stood to the left side of me where he stood. His face told me nothing. Not how he felt, not what he thought, not even what he wanted to do. What happened had no affect on him. He was numb.

_'Why can I figure you out? Chicken Butt isn't even that hard to figure out!'_ I thought in frustration.

_'Sasuke…'_

"Sorry I gotta go?" I broke out into a run.

There was no need for me to run at a speed that looked like I was trying to compete with the speed of light but my gut told me had to. There was a sense of urgency. I knew he would be there waiting for me even after he ran all over the school looking for me but would he really still be there? Would I still be there waiting if the shoe was on the other foot?

_'No.'_

I burst through the front door, light blaring out into the dark night like a phoenix lighting the night. Sitting there was on his motorcycle was Sasuke. His helmet on, ready to go not even sparing me a glance. I smiled, happy to know that he didn't drive off. I sat behind him and put on the spare helmet that I had grow to call mine. I assumed the usually position of anyone driving behind the driver, arms around waist. Sasuke stiffed and didn't ever relax like he usually does. He was on edge the whole way to my house. He didn't even wish me goodnight before he sped down the road to his home.

**_To Be Continued…_**

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**I really enjoying writing this chapter. I finally feel as if the story is getting somewhere! Please please pretty please review and tell me what you think about it. i NEED feedback on how you guys think it's going so far.**

**_Until next time people_**

**_Ja ne Mina! _**


	5. Frangible

**Yola Mina! It's time for this story to get going to places. I think a lot of you will like this chapter. I can tell you that my ipod and I enjoyed it. i think this is the longest chapter so far.**

**Chapter 5**

**Frangible**

The next day I woke with so many question about what happened yesterday floating in my mind that I had to take the blonde way out, stop thinking. It worked for a while. I did everything that was essential for getting ready for another day of school. But of course no one can stop thinking forever. Thinking must be done for almost everything. As I was packing my books for the classes I would have today, I thought about how I would get to school today. For the past couple of weeks not only has he been bringing me home but he was also picking me up on his way to school. The thought of having to walk all the way to school from home was not something I wanted to have to go back to doing.

I let out a sigh and slapped me cheeks "Come on Sakura, suck it up!" I stood in front of the mirror. "You've done this so many times before. So what if your feet are killing you by the time you get home. It's nothing you can't handle."

Giving yourself a motivating speech in front of a mirror is always a good way to make yourself feel better about whatever it is that is bothering you. Well that's what Naruto use to say. An image of the boy from the cemetery flashed through my mind. I vigorously shook my head, removing the image from my mind.

_'He is nothing like him! Naruto never sweared! Naruto never wore such ill fitting clothes ! Naruto…he's not Naruto…'_ I concluded mentally.

Suddenly Sasuke's facial expression from yesterday appeared in my mind, as vivid as a movie showing on a HD TV. Guilt was eating at me. I left him waiting for me for forty-five minutes, outside in the cold night air. '_How am I going to face him?'_I frowned.

"No, no, no." I shook my head. "There's no point in crying over split milk. I have until second period to think about what to say to Sasuke, there's plenty of time to plan on what to say."

"Sakura! Sasuke is waiting down stairs for you!" my mother shouted.

I was a little, no scratch that, I was stun to find Sasuke sitting in my living room watch morning cartoons. I was so sure that there was no way he would be willing to give me a drop to school after that little… no scratch after that stunt I pulled yesterday. Yet here his was despite it all, sitting on my couch watching **Spongebob**.

"Morning Chicken Butt." I said putting on the most cheerful smile I could muster.

He looked at me with those same cold, unfeeling eyes that he gave the cemetery boy. There was no doubt that he saw through my fake smile.

"Morning" was all he said to me before saying "Bye Mrs. H." to my mother and walking out the front door.

"Bye Sasuke- kun, bye Saki, have a good day at school!"

I bid my mother goodbye and walked straight out the door after Sasuke. I gave a sigh of relief, knowing that there would be no awkward conversation on the way to school because he would be too busy concentrating on making twist and turns as well as keeping his balance on the motorcycle with me on it. Boy, was I wrong. Today Sasuke decide to drive a _car_. I sweat dropped mental. He always drove a two wheeler never a four.

_'Why the sudden change?'_

A part of me figured it had something to do with last night, the way he stiffened and never relaxed, not once on the way home but another part of me said 'Sakura, when you assume you make an ass out of me and you.' For all I knew his bike could be giving trouble, for all I knew it could be that he didn't want to be so close to me right now.

I stolen a couple of glances at Sasuke, trying to figure out when I should begin to talk to him based on he facial expression. This was all so weird, basing what mood Sasuke was in or what he could be thinking based on his expressionless face. I'm so hopeless when it comes to him. Wait, why am I making such a big deal about this? _'It's just Chicken Butt, I'm talking about here.'_

"Say Chicken Butt, what made you drive a car today?"

"…" He showed no movement of coming up with a response.

"Chicken Butt what made you drive a car to school today?" I asked again.

"…" no response.

"I mean you never drove me to school in a car before this. Why the sudden change? I didn't even think you owned a car the way you're always driving your moto-"

He made a sudden stop at the red light "I just felt like driving a fucking car today okay? God, stop asking me already!" he snapped.

My mouth ran dry. Sasuke snapped at me like he would one of his fangirls, at me of all people. It was like a bitch slap to the face. I was hurt. Sure Sasuke and I crack joke on each other that would make any normal person cry but this one was different, he meant it. I chose to pled the fifth for the rest of the car ride and as soon as we reached the school premise, as soon as he parked his car in the student parking lot, I high tailed it out of there. I could hear Sasuke calling out to me but I kept on walking, putting one foot in front the other until I made it to the girls' bathroom.

At this time of the morning, before first period, all the girls who wanted to ditch would hide out in the bathroom. Why the bathroom? Because walking into the bathroom and hustling students out was an invasion of privacy. There was a few girls taking a smoke before going to first period. I couldn't blame them, teacher were stressful. I could tell as soon as I opened the door because of the thick layer of smoke in the room. I coughed a couple of times before I made it to one of the stall near the window and locked myself inside.

_'What kind of idiot willing puts themselves in this kind of predicament?'_

What have I done? i trapped myself in a room with people who could give two shits about me. My mind wandered to Sasuke and then I remember what he said. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that Sasuke didn't care about me right now. I was on the same level as Itachi right now in his eyes and that was a_pretty_ low level.

Knock knock!

"There gone now so you could come out." Said a voice I wasn't sure I could trust.

There was nothing I could lose at this point so what the hay, I'll believe her. Whoever she was.

The 'she'turned out to be no other then Karin Sato. Once again I made an ass out of myself by assuming. She was not someone that any decent parent would want their child hanging out with. Just by looking at her anyone could tell that she was not the girl you would want to take home to mama. Maybe it's best to describe her. Karin wore glasses but she was no nerd, far from it to be exact. Her outfits were always something short or something that showed off her assets and sometimes both if she felt like it. She always spoke her mind, no sugarcoating for anyone be they adult, peer or child. She's known to go and do what she wanted to when she wanted to with whoever she wanted to do it with. All the things I know about her are basic knowledge of anyone who goes to this school or who's see her in the street. To sum it up Karin Sato was a hoochie momma.

"That was a dumbass idea to hide in a room with people you're clearly afraid of." Karin scoffed.

"…" I didn't know what to say that would allow me save passage out off here.

"You know that sex organism on legs was looking for you." She stated fixing her makeup.

I know she was talking about Sasuke but _I_didn't wanna talk about Sasuke.

"I don't care."

"You don't? I wish I were you. If I could just get him to look at my good his fine ass," she flipped her hair and winked in the mirror, "would be mine."

"I don't care about him or how sexy he is." I denied.

She came closer to me, "Oh stop lying to yourself, you like him more than you're willing to let yourself believe." Then she walked out leaving me alone to reflect on what she said.

The balance of the day was spent ignoring Sasuke or trying to anyway. It was pretty hard to do seeing as he is was in most of my classes today and I had to sit next to him in all of them. I could tell that he wanted to talk to me but him didn't and I was okay with that because I wouldn't know how to respond.

Sitting next to the person you don't want to talk to or even being in the same room as them isn't good for someone's nerves. Mine were having a frenzy. It was like I was more aware of Sasuke after Karin's statement in the bathroom. I acted like I was looking at the time to see what he was doing. My eyes widened in shock. He was taking down notes from the whiteboard instead of trying to find a way to apologize to me. I furiously continued jotting down my notes.

_'Stupid stupid Chicken Butt!' _ I thought over and over in my head as I glared at the board imagining that it was Sasuke. _'see if I care if you say sorry or not.'_

When the bell rang for lunch, I got up with a huff and stormed out of there. I guess the next storm they have, they should call it hurricane Sakura. Yeah, I was that mad.

Unlike how I was feeling, the weather was nice. The sun was out, clouds were passing by, there was a cool gentle breeze and the sky was a cerulean blue. I leaned my arms on the railing and looked at the sky.

' _I really missed him_._'_ I fidled with my necklace. Naruto was the only person I could really open myself up to. He was my go-to-guy and now that he was gone I had no one to talk to.

"ACHOO!"

I turned around in on fluent movement with no hesitation to see who was there. It was Jugo Scales. I immediately began to have a panic attack. Jugo was not the kind of person you want to be left alone with. He wasn't a rapist or a pervert, he was something worse. From what I heard he has the tendency to go on a bloodlust rampage, injuring anything or anyone in sight. The last person to feel his wrath ended up in the hospital and I'm not talking about a boo boo, there was blood, a lot of it.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Jugo said softly, taking little steps closer to me. "I just came up here to free this bird. Would you like to see him?"

For each step he took forward I took one back, or tried to anyway. Before I knew it he was standing right in front of me, the injured bird stretched out to me in open hands. It was as if he was offering me proof that he was not dangerous. I peered into his hands cautiously. There was a little baby blue jay with a twig tied to it's wing.

"Why is there a twig tied to it's wing?" I asked hoping he wasn't planning some cruel animal experiment.

"Oh, that's to support his broken wing so he can fly." He replied softly as he pet the said bird.

The soft look he had in his eyes made me want to give him a big hug. He looked like he couldn't hurt a fly much less me. Reality slapped me in the face bringing me out of my warp version of the true. He was dangerous and I was standing in the way of danger.

"I found him in the park the other day and have been taking care of him ever since." He looked at me and continued, " I think he is ready to fly again so I'm letting him go."

Jugo throw the bird in the air and it started to fly away. I turned around and watched the bird fly back to his home.

"Why didn't you keep him as a pet?"

"Because I think he would miss his family"

"Oh." I bowed my head.

"No, don't be sad," he panicked,"if he wanted to stay with me he would have stay but he probable really misses his loved ones like is mama and papa. I know I do."

I looked at Jugo and saw the hurt and anger on his face. That could be the reason why he lashes out at people. The more I thought about it, Jugo is a very strong person. He did something I never could full do, he let go and I wasn't talking about Naruto. No I've learned to let go of him a long time ago, you can't bring back the dead but that doesn't mean that I must let my feelings or the moments we shared die as well. I was talking about whatever was going on with Sasuke.

_'Maybe I should leave Sasuke alone for a little while.'_

I was finding answers in the most unusual people. First Karin and now Jugo, people who I wouldn't go near within a ten foot pole radius of. After my little epiphany something wonderful happened, the baby blue jay flew back and perched itself on Jugo's shoulder.

"See, it came back!" he exclaimed with a grin in my direction.

It was like God was sending me a sign that everything will work out if I gave it time. I returned the smile Jugo gave me. I wasn't afraid of him anymore. I kind of understood him better. If only it could be this way with Sasuke and the mysterious cemetery boy.

"You know, you're not as scary as I though." I said to him, looking him in the eye. "You're really kind and caring."

He blushed and looked at the ground where people looked like ants from this distance." No one has ever said that to me before." He looked back up at me. "You're a very good person to see past the darkness people have in their hearts."

We were silent but that was okay because the wind was filling the silent for us with understanding, there was no need for words.

"Jugo, you dumbass. You had me walking all over the school looking for your ass." Karin stated angrily.

"Sorry Karin."

"Well what are you waiting for? An invitation? Come on! We'll be late." She snapped and stormed out.

Jugo proceeded to follow Karin but not before saying, "Enjoy the rest of you day." Like a polite little child unlike Karin.

I waved, "Bye."

After my encounter with Jugo, I left Sasuke alone. I didn't try to talk to him and I didn't try to ignore him, I just sat next to him. My afternoon was uneventful. The only thing that some people thought was eventful was the fact that Jugo, Karin and Suigesu got in trouble for ditching class and were nowhere to be found on campus. When I went to drop off my books I found a note in my locker.

**Hey George,**

**I thought you might want this back so I asked my mom where your locker was.**

"George?" I said aloud.

Attached to the note was the barite I was wearing yesterday. Question marks were floating over my head. Who sent this note? What do they mean 'I asked my mom where your locker was'? Everything clicked and the question marks popped one by one. It was him, he sent this note.

_'So his mom works in the school. I might see him again!'_ I thought jumping around in my mind. Who needs a pogo stick when I was already hitting the roof.

When my tutoring session was finished I walked to front gate, ready to face the night by myself but I didn't have to because leaning on his car was Sasuke. He looked dead at me and nodded his head gesturing to the car. I could feel a smile forming on my face as I moved closer. He's been making me smile a lot lately.

_'I guess he does care.'_ I looked at the boy driving next to me, _'I'm glad he does.'_

**_To Be Continued…_**

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**Ah~, another chapter done! all's well that ends well. I hope you guys like this chapter. I see that ya'll are reading it but not reviewing it but I guess that's ok since your reading it. read and review!**

**_Until next time people._**

**_Ja ne Mina! _**


	6. Breach

**Yola Mina! Sorry I haven't written. I hope you guys accept this chapter as my 'Sorry I took so long' gift. I think you'll REALLY like this chapter. You don't believe me? Okay, go ahead and read it than.**

**Chapter 6**

**Breach**

"Hey Jugo!"

"Hello Sakura."

Had become the norm over the past week. What wasn't the norm was this.

"What so I'm chopped liver now?" Karin barked.

"No. chopped liver smells better than you." Suigetsu stated.

Since our first official meeting, I have been having my lunch with Jugo and it turns out I was right, he is a nice guy once you get to know him and quite the gentleman to boot. He never cursed or had inappropriate conversation with me unlike Karin and Suigetsu. They were always doing and saying things parents tell their children not to do. Today Karin and Suigetsu decide to grace us with their presence, not that I had a problem with them or anything. I mean for the past couple of days I have been interacting with them somewhat, thanks to Jugo. But personally I preferred if they would act like Santa Claus and left our presences.

Just like the park the roof top is where I come to be alone. It wasn't always where I spent my lunch time but over the past year I have grown apart from my school friends. We still talk and hang out sometimes it's just that I feel as if I'm clinging to them because I don't have Naruto anymore.

"Hello earth to Sakura," Suigetsu said waving him hand in my face. " did you hear me?"

I rose to a sitting postion, "Sorry, what did you say."

Karin rolled her eyes and sighed, "We're leaving, it's time for us to go so we'll see you tomorrow ."

"Oh okay." I said without questioning, "See ya." I smiled sadly knowing that I would be alone for the next forty-five minutes.

"Don't worry, tomorrow we'll be all your." Jugo said ruffling my hair before he left.

I laid down on my back, looking at the shapes the clouds made. Cloud gazing is the best thing to do when you had nothing to do and guess what? I had nothing to do but relax.

"So this is where you go every lunch time." Someone said above me causing me to sit up in a rush.

There was no way that it could have been God because he always knows where I am instead it was the the person that most of the girls in school claimed to be a demi god because of his dashing good looks, Sasuke. I couldn't be bothered to say anything to him. I don't even think I could say anything with the way he looked in the sunlight. I was as if the sun knew that Sasuke looked like an angel and gave him the spotlight he deserved.

Sasuke had a wierd out look on his face. "Pinky, are you okay? You have a goofy look on your face."

I looked away, unable to say anything. He made me forget how to speak. I could hear the fabric of his pants rubbing together as he stooped to my level, trying to get a good look at me but I refused to look him in the eye, it did things to me.

_'Since when did my heart start to beat so fast around him?'_

"Pinky, you're starting to freak me out. Are you feeling sick or something?" he touched my forehead with his hand. It felt nice and cool. Then he pulled it back, "Damn you're on fire."

"No, I'm fine just feeling a little warm is all." My fingers looked so interesting at the moment.

That's when Sasuke rested his head on my lap. I was totally caught off guard. His hair was spread out on my legs, showing each and every strand. To make matters worse not only could I feel his hair on my bare legs thanks to the skirt I wore, or see him as he breathed through his mouth but he held my face in his hand like you would in you were to collect water in your hands to drink. I had no chose but to see him eye to eye.

"Why won't you look at me Sakura?" were the first words he spoke.

Hearing him say that in such a gentle voice paralyzed me. I knew that if I didn't stop looking at him, I wouldn't be able to escape his hypnotic gaze. I closed my eyes shut, there was no need for crazy glue with the amount of force I used.

"Do I have to do something else to get you to look at me, Sakura?" he said using that voice again, saying my name like that again.

Before I know it, I felt his lips on mine. It lasted less than a minute but it was like an explosion. Sasuke sure got me to do what he wanted, I was looking and there was no way for me to stop myself. The response was instant, there was no delay.

SLAP!

I slapped Sasuke straight across the face. The shock made me do it. This was all too much for me to handle. Sasuke kissed me…and I _liked_ it. Sasuke was as shocked as I was about what happened the kiss, the slap, it was all so…WOW!

_'Where did that come from?'_

Sasuke was holding his cheek. I didn't even know how we reached to a standing position, looking eye to eye. There was a need for there to be distance between us.

"Sakura…" I stopped moving away when he said my name in that way, his voice showing hurt,  
"don't go I-" I bolted before he could say anymore that would have unraveled my already crumbling world. Things were just starting to look up, I was getting better, things were becoming normal again.

"Umph!" I bumped into someone.

What was I thinking, things could never go back to normal, not without Naruto. That normal will never exist again.

"George, are you okay?" someone asked me for the second time to day.

_'What if I like Sasuke?'_

Of course I like Sasuke, he is one of my good friends. That is all he is to me a friend, nothing more, nothing less. No one can replace Naruto, no one. He's the one I love.

**_'But he's dead Sakura.'_** My mind argued with my heart, **_'He's never coming back.'_**

My chest was tight,I was going crazy, I didn't want to hear it, I didn't want to face the fact that I may never love someone the way I love him, I want to die…

"It's okay, whatever it is." Said a voice I only hear in my dream "I'm here for you, Sakura."

The arms wrapped around me that prevented me from shaking violently and the voice talking to me that calmed me down somewhat… now that I think about it were different from the ones I remember. They were not Naruto's. They were his, I snapped out of my gaze and looked at the person holding me only to cry and cling on to him for dear life, this was as close as I would get to my Naruto again.

We must have stayed like that for an hour, with me bawling my eyes out on his black jersey and him trying to soothe me but rubbing my back and running his hand through my hair. it was way passed lunch time being over. There was no point in going back to school and there was no way of going home. There was nowhere for me to go.

"The water works all done now?" he said when my cries turned to snuffles.

I nodded my head, not sure on what to say to the stranger who let my stain his shirt with my tears.

This was so embarrassing! To be seen acting like one of those stupid girl from lifetime! I was convinced that my eyes were blood shot and my nose must have been running and to make things worse this happened with him around. He detach me from him to have a good look at my face.

_'I'm tired of people examining me.'_

"Well, that's good your face doesn't look like a complete mess." He said with a smirk that was almost a boardline smile, "Now, if you had on the eye thing that made you look like you were crying black then you would look like a piece of work."

I smiled knowing what he was talking about.

"There we go,now I can final relax." He tussled his hair," I'm not good with crying girls. Now if you don't mind not that I care if you do, I gotta go."

He turned his back on me but before he could take another step further I grabbed his shirt, like a lost little kid.

"Wait! I didn't get to thank you." I finished lamely.

He turned to face me with a raised eyebrow, waiting for his 'Thank you' impatiently.

"Umm, thank you…"

"No prob. Bye."

"Wait!"

I could see him clenching his fist. "What now?" he growled.

"How did you find me and how do you know my name and why don't I know _your_ name if you know my name and can I go with yo-"

"Slow yuh roll George. I'll answer you, so you better listen well I don't like to repeat myself, got it?"

I nodded.

"You ran into the cemetery and bumped into me, the emo kid said your name, I don't want you to know my name and oh fuck no you cant fucking come with me."

"But I can't go back to school and I definitely can't go home during school hours! My mom will kill me."

He turned around once again and started to walk away while replying "Not my problem, kid."

I didn't want him to leave me here by myself, I didn't want to be alone. I couldn't believe this thought crossed my mind but if it worked once it would work again. I cried at the top of my lungs. Forcing the tears to keep come pouring out my eyes. He rushed back in no time.

_'I'm so~ a lifetime girl.'_

They really meant it when they say 'be careful what you wish for'. Standing before me was a house. To a lot of people this is nothing but when that house is one on of the houses on the east of town where all the murders and shot outs take place, there is reason for concern.

The house looked dilapidated, in shambles and barely holding itself together. Even part of the roof was being held together with duct tape. It was an amazement that someone actually still lived there. The paint was chipping off the wall and the house moved by the gentle breeze of the wind, I could only imagine what happened when it really poured. Basically, this house made _the projects_ look save and without a doubt, I knew… I was in deep shit.

Fear had sunk into my bone as the harsh reality settled it.

_'I might get shot!'_

The floor boards creeked each time I walked up. There were some plastic lawn chairs surrounding a discolored coffee table. The ashtray on top of it was filled to the brim with cigarette buds. My legs ached from the distance we had walk and I was too tired to continue caring about the details of my surroundings, that is until someone whose face was covered in piercing appeared at the front door.

"Hisashi, what a surprise. I wasn't expecting you." The man side stepped to allow us to enter. His eyes following me as I walk closely behind Hisashi which I assumed was cemetery boy's name. The only thing the man had on was a towel wrapped around his waist.

"And you brought company." He grinned at me, eyes suggesting what kind of company he meant. "well that's a first."

"The fact that you even thought I would be like you, hurts me, Yahiko." Hisashi yelled as the man "Hi Konan!"

"Hi Hisashi!" a females voice yelled back from upstairs.

" So little lady," Yahiko addressed me, "are you here to train?"

"Wha?" I exclaimed.

"Konan you got a new one!" he yelled.

Konan came down stairs with the bed sheets wrapped around her body, her purple hair framing her flustered face.

"When would you like to begin? We could start now if you want?" Konan stated.

"What?" I exclaimed a little louder.

_' I don't wanna be a prostitute!'_

"She's not here for that." Hisashi stated in a kind of tried voice.

After Hisashi cleared up the little misunderstanding, everyone understood where the other was coming from. They knew that I was playing hooky for unknown reasons and I knew that Konan and Yahiko were martial arts instructors.

Time flew by as I sat and watched Hisashi train with Yahiko in the basement. Konan had disappeared a short while after to take care of some business. I closed my eyes to reflect on the today's events and course of action I took, I was _that_ comfortable with being here. Despite the condition of the house, the people were okay in my books, I felt safe…in a dilapidated house.

**_'We interrupt what you are watching right now to bring you this exciting story, you cell phone is actually__ ringing.' _**My cell phone rang.

I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and looked at the caller id. It was Sasuke. I was in a good mood and I was not about to let him ruin it with one of his excuses so I ignored the call, not push the ignore button but let the phone ring so it goes to voice mail naturally.

**_'We interrupt what you are watching right now to bring you this exciting story, you cell phone is actually ringing.'_**

Ignored.

**_'We interrupt what you are watching right now to bring you this exciting story, you cell phone is actually ringing.'_**

Ignored.

**_'We interrupt what you are watching right now to bring you this exciting story, you cell phone is actually ringing.'_**

"Goerge could you please answer the phone or put in the shit on vibrate. It's pisssing me off" Hisashi commanded.

"You're open!" Yahiko pointed out as he attacked but he was to slow as Hisashi blocked it with ease.

**_'We interru-'_**

"what do you want?" I answered darkly.

"Oh thank god you're okay." I heard Sasuke sigh of relief. "I thought something happened to you when I went by your house and your mom told me you weren't there. I looked everywhere for you, the park, the cemetery, my house and I couldn't find you. Where are you Sakura?"

"I'm just hanging out." I said coolly.

"Ugh!" Hisashi groaned loudly.

"Did you see that Sakura-chan?" Yahiko boasted " I whipped his ass!"

"What was that?" Sasuke questioned.

"It's was nothing that you need to be concerned about" I replied while giving Yahiko a thumbs up.

"Please tell me you're not doing something stupid.."

"No."

"Thought you got me uh? Well you were dead wrong!" Hisashi comment with a body slam.

"You son of a bitch!" Yahiko exclaimed rubbing his back.

"The background sound like a yes."

"I'm safe so chill, I'll see you tomorrow, bye!" I hung up the phone before he could say anything.

The time was now four o'clock and I was starting to think I was over staying my welcome. I should have said my goodbyes and leave but that would be stupid to step foot out of this safe haven into that dog eats dog world out there.

"Okay, you're done for the day." Yahiko said to Hisashi as he crashed on to the couch next to me. "I'll let you take the first shower so you can get Sakura-chan home while there is still some daylight."

Hisashi disappeared off to the bathroom and I was left alone with Yahiko. Yahiko seemed pretty nice so far, just based off of his looks, the bleached orange hair, the seven ear piercing on each ear,the six piercings on his nose and the two peircings under his lip, I know a lot of people who would say otherwise.

"You must mean a lot to Hisashi for him to bring you here." Yahiko said out of the blue.

I shook my head vigorously, remembering what I did to get here, " No I don't. He only brought me here because I kind of… forced him to."

Yahiko chuckled, "No one forces that boy do to anything he doesn't want to. Trust me, we _all_ have tried."

"Oh.." was all I could say to his statement.

Hisashi did seem like the kind of guy who wouldn't yield to anybody or should I say not just anybody. Even though I knew a little more about him, he was still a puzzle I hadn't come close to solving.

"He never brings people who aren't apart of the... martial art classes only those who take part which leads me to think that you mean something to him." Yahiko explained.

The way he said that made it sound like there was something wrong with Hisashi bring me here,like they were hiding something… But if they were hiding something wouldn't Hisashi carry me somewhere else? I was confused.

"Alright, I'm out of here. Duces Yahiko, see you tomorrow."Hisashi bid Yahiko goodbye.

"Be sure to bring Sakura-chan over with you next time." Yahiko said.

"Don't count on it." Hisashi stated darkly as if challenging Yahiko to say anything on the matter again.

Yahiko turned to me and looked me in the eye as he said, "You come here anytime you like and you will always be welcomed here."

I could feel the anger radiating off of Hisashi as he stormed out of the front door, shutting it with a _BANG!_

"Thank you for having me spend a couple of hours here. I hope I didn't cause any trouble for you."

"If you're talking about him," Yahiko said jabbing his thumb at the door, " don't worry about."

"Okay,well I better get going before he walks any further."

"OH! And Sakura-chan?"

"Yes, Yahiko-san?"

"I meant it when I said you're welcome here anytime."

I smiled at him, said thank you and left.

Hisashi was standing on the sidewalk with a lit cigarette in hand. I really thought he had started walking.

He didn't say anything to me as we walked to my house, all he did was smoke that death trap and another one and_ another _one. I really hate it when people did things that did harmed to their body. The way he kept on pulling them out of that **_Newport_** box, he could have be in a competition with Shikamaru.

"Smoking is bad for you, you know. It could kill you. What, do you want to die young?" I said angrily.

"Don't go back there." Hisashi commanded after he took a pull.

"Why should I listen to you? Yahiko-san said I can come back any time I want." I replied angry that he was telling me what to do but not listening to what I said about smoking.

"Fuck what Yahiko said, I'm telling, not forbidding you from going back there. It's not a place for little girls like you!"

"And smoking is not for little kids like you! I'll have you know I can protect myself and I'm not a little girl!"

Hisashi stopped walking.

"You can protect yourself?" he laughed, "She said she can protect herself!" he laughed harder. The sound was hurtful.

Then he suddenly stopped. " Do you really think you can defend yourself against some thug from the hood, Goerge?" he moved closer to me, "They eat little girls like you as a starter course before the main meal." He moved even closer into my face until we were millimeters apart," I highly doubt that you can handle them."

There was something in his eyes I couldn't recognize, one I've never seen him use before.

_'Was it fear?'_

I was speechless. He was afraid for me, for my safety. His mouth opened as if he wanted to say something, his eyes shifted to something behind me. He backed away and gave a chuckle.

"I guess I don't have to walk you home anymore." He stated coolly.

"What? Why?" I panicked.

"You're ride is here." He replied pointing behind me.

Behind me was a black car. I couldn't make out what kind of car it was but I knew the person leaning against it, looking at us, Sasuke. From the distance I couldn't see his facial expression but his body language told me he wasn't happy to see me with Hisashi.

"You better get going before he comes over and trys and pick a fight with me because I'm not in a good mood to play Mr. Nice Guy."

I looked from Hisashi to Sasuke and back to Hisashi again. He had a point, if Sasuke came over here, a fight would be bound to happen. I wanted to stretch out to Hisashi and pull him into a hug but I knew he would push me away and I couldn't handle that right now. I already had enough on my plate for one person.

"Bye Hisashi and thank you for helping me out today." I said as I looked up to his face.

"Yeah," He ruffled his hair, "just…don't let it happen again cause I might not be there next time."

As soon as I set foot into Sasuke's car I knew that I would be bombarded with question that would have to be answered. Instead Sasuke said not one word about it or to me for that matter. It made me uncomfortable.

"Are you giving me the silent treatment?" I asked.

"No." He responded dryly, eyes on the road.

"Then why won't you say something?"

He looked at me briefly, "What do you want me to say Sakura? Where were you?" I could hear the sarcasm in his words. "It's not like you're gonna answer me and beside you were with _him_."

"…" I was silent.

"All I have to say to you is that I'm sorry about what happen ." He said loud enough for me to hear but low enough that if there were other people in the car that they wouldn't heard anything.

"I'm sorry I slapped you even though you deserved it and… I forgive you Chicken Butt." I smiled at him hoping thing were good between us now.

He smiled back, something I rarely see or anyone rarely see. "Whatever Pinky."

**_To Be Continued…_**

* * *

**So~...was I right or was I wrong? I like this chapter, though it was hard to write but once I started to write, I couldn't stop myself. tell me something, who do you want Sakura to be with? Hisashi or Sasuke? lol just kidding! ****Leave a review to let me know what you think about the turn of events . **

**_Until next time people._**

**_Ja ne Mina! _**


	7. Snap, Crackle, Pop!

**Yola Mina! So here it is chapter seven, the longest chapter so far. Coming up with the title for this chapter was hard but I think it's suitable for it. Read it and tell me if you think so too. ****Oh! Would you guys like if I add a playlist that you could listen to while you're reading the chapter? Let me know if you do or don't.**

**Chapter 7**

**Snap, Crackle, Pop!**

Before this, I use to think that sasuke only drove his car to school when he was mad at me but now I know he only drives his car to school when he wants space away from me.

The ride to school with Sasuke was fairly normal, we talked a little about this and a little about that but nothing about what happened yesterday. My parents didn't even ask about anything, me ditching the rest of my classes or coming home late.

When I told Sasuke this he said, "I told your teachers that you were sick and went home early and I told your mom that you were at the cemetery and that she shouldn't worry cause I would drop you home."

I was a little shock that he would lie for me after what I put him through but then again _he_ kissed _me_.

_'The kiss, why did I have to remember that of all thing?' _

I stole a glance at Sasuke and licked my chapped lips. Maybe it would be better if I avoided him for a little while, till I stop feeling this… nervousness.

Sasuke parked the car, turned off the engine and faced me. "Look pinky I don't know exactly what you're thinking in that little head of yours but I have a fairly good idea of what it is." He looked me dead in the eye and leaned forward. "Don't try to avoid me because I'm not gonna avoid you."

He face was so serious and I knew he was serious about what he said, the determination in his eyes told me so. I just wish he didn't lean in so close to my face.

_'I thought he was going to kiss me again.' _

I could still feel my heart beating fast from what happened this morning in the car and it was lunch time already. Lately Sasuke has been having this effect on me. The same effect as Naruto only… No, Naruto effected me more. He made me lose myself and the track of time when I was with him, Sasuke…he was…different, he just was…different.

"Ughh!" I cried as I vigorously shook my head. The weather outside wasn't as nice as it was for the past few days. There were gray clouds everywhere but I should have known today would've be a rainy day. After Sasuke dropped me home last night, it was raining cats and dogs.

_'I hope Hisashi made it home okay.'_

Hisashi, the cemetery boy. My mind recalled the way he looked last night, the worried look in his eyes, for me. It made no sense why he would care about me, I was nothing to him but some 'random chick'. There was no need to care that much about someone you barely knew.

The wind was blowing hard and I was happy for once that I wasn't outside on the rooftop instead I was in an empty classroom by myself. Normal sociable people would be in the cafeteria surrounded by their friends and significant other, too bad I wasn't. I use to be like that minus the significant other but not anymore. I was not about to go with my tail between my legs and sit with my old group of friends that I haven't had lunch with in months because I was feeling lonely.

_'If only it weren't raining, I would feel better, if only for a little while.' _

I would hang out with Jugo, Karin and Suigetsu but I couldn't find them anywhere and maybe it was better this way. I don't think I could've handle having company disappear on me today. I took out my cell phone and stared at the screen, then put it back in my pocket. It was useless. The only person I wanted to talk to whenever I felt down in the dumps was Naruto. Sometimes we use to call each other and talk during lunchtime because lunch began and ended at the same time for us. I fiddled with my neaklace and smiled sadly as leaned back into my chair, eyes closed.

Someone snatched my arm and pulled me to my feet. I opened my eyes instantly, fear sounding the alarm in my mind. Platinum blonde hair swing like the tail of a horse in my face. I was surprised.

"Come on Forehead, your seating with us today whether you like it or not and I don't wanna hear any ifs or buts about it." Ino stated looking forward.

A smile graced my face, a real genuine smile. "Yes Pig."

The cafeteria was packed but that wasn't a surprise, it was raining outside and the only place to shelter was in the school. Ino lead me to a table filled with all of our friends that is if they still considered me a friend after how I've been acting over the past couple of months and who I've been hanging out with over the past couple of weeks. Everyone at the table looked up at me, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Choji and Lee , all conversations on pause. I gulped.

_'This gonna end bad.'_

Then they all smile, except for Sasuke who smirked.

Sitting with them felt like nothing had change, it was like we never, _I_ never drifted away from them. The distance between us, that I thought was a big gaping hole was just a pothole that needed a little dirt to fill it up.

"What made you come find me to seat with you guys?" I asked Ino quietly.

She smile with a winkle in her eyes. "Sasuke." was all she said.

I looked over at the raven head boy across from me who was smirking at something Shikamaru said to Lee.

'_He told her to come get me? Why?' _

"Why?" I asked aloud.

"Because it was raining outside and he told us how you feel when it's raining so we thought of inviting you to sit with us, like the old days but we weren't sure if you would come. Then Sasuke told me that I should be the one to get you."

I understood why Sasuke would send Ino to get me, she was, no _is_ one of my best friends since childhood besides Naruto. But how did he know how I felt on rainy day? It wasn't something I let people, even if we were friends, know about me. I covered it up like a bruise I was ashamed of. No one needed to know that sometimes I get depressed on a rainy days.

_'How did Sasuke know?'_

"Sakura Haruno, will you please report to the principal's office. Sakura Haruno." Said Tsunade over the intercom during last period.

As far as I know, I did nothing wrong unless Lady Tsunade was calling me into her office because of yesterday…

"Sakura, I suggest you get a move on if you want to return to class quickly." Kakashi-sensei said pointedly.

"Yes Sir." I replied getting up from my seat to face my doom.

There was not a soul lingering in the hallway which was to be expected because everyone was supposed to be in their classes. I felt like an inmate on death row, walking to their executioner, who also happens to be the head master of this institution. I knock on the door, waiting to be granted entrance into the room.

"Come in."

I opened the door timidly, not stepping in all the way. "You want to speak to me about something?"

Lady Tsunade looked up from her paper work and said, "Ah, Sakura, have a sit."

I did as I was instructed to do. Silence filled the air as I waited for her to finish what she was doing before she talked to me. Whatever it is that she had to say must have been pretty long for her to have to finish her paper work before talking to me which meant only one thing…

_'I'm in so much trouble that not even God could help me out.' _

Lady Tsunade finally put her pen down and folded her hands. "I have something that I need to ask you, Sakura."

I gulped, preparing for the blow, " What is it Lady Tsunade?"

_'Please let it something else. Please let it be something else. Please let it be something else. Anything else!'_

Lady Tsunade pulled out a brown paper bag from her desk and put it on the desk. "Do you mind taking this to my son for me after school? He's home sick with the flu and I have too much work that needs to be done, to make a quick trip home just to give him his medicine."

I mentally thanked God and said to Lady Tsunade, "Sure, I don't mind but what about my tutoring sessions today?"

She fanned he hand," Don't worry about that, I'll get someone else to help them."

I sighed knowing that Lady Tsunade was going to dump the work on Miss Shizune, that poor overworked soul.

"Is that all you wanted?" I asked Lady Tsunade before exiting the room.

"Please make sure he take the medicine before you leave, use force if you must. That child hates medicine more than he hates school and here are the keys for the house."

I proceeded to walk out the door when Lady Tsunade called my name.

"And Sakura? I just want you to know that my doors are always open for you when you're ready to talk. The sooner you talk about it, the fast you will be able to mend your broken heart."

A sad smile graced me face as a lone tear trickled down my bang covered my face.

"I know Tsunade-shishou."

Sasuke didn't make much of a fuss when I told he that I had something important that I need to do, instead he asked me if I need him to pick me up after he finishes practice. He was rather calm, cool, and collective which was not the Sasuke I've been dealing with lately. I was expecting him to go ballistic and hound me with questions like ' Where are you go?', 'Why do you have to go where you're going?' or even ' Why won't you tell me where you're going?'

Instead when I told him, "You don't need to worry, I won't be there long so I'll just walk home."

He just shrugged and said, "Okay but if it gets too late call me and I'll pick you up no matter where you are."

I didn't know what to say to that, I didn't know what to think about what he said. _'I'll pick you up no matter where you are.'_ His words played over in my head.

_'Sasuke really could be my Knight in shining armor…if I'd let him.'_

This town may be big but it was still a small world to us. Everybody knew where everyone live… okay so that was all an exaggeration but it was true that every member of the student body knew where Lady Tsunade lived, it was just that there was no one who was brave enough to go near it.

Lady Tsunade wasn't scary, she just took her prize winning house very seriously as seriously as she took her gambling and drinking. Other than that Lady Tsunade was the nicest person you could ever meet…unless you messed with her house, gambling, booze , her pig or was disrespectful, then she could be your worse nightmare.

The way Lady Tsunade talked about her son, anyone would think that he was a grade schooler. He hated medicine as much as he hated school, he was home sick with the flu and his mother was so worried about him that she bought him medicine and had it delivered to her house.

_ 'She even instructed that he have his medicine before I leave the house.'_

For all the years I have known Lady Tsunade, I never knew she had any children. I didn't think she had any. I tried to recall with all my might if I had ever seen her with a big belly or without a drink in her hand or at her disposal and there was none, not even one time. The second thing was that Tsunade was never seen around town with a man on her arm unless you include that one time I saw her with that long grey haired pervert but there was no way she would have a child with that guy.

The only option leave as to why she would suddenly have a son was that she adopted him or something. That must have been the answer.

Her house was as breathe-takingly beautiful as ever with a few new flowers planted in the front yard.

_'The woman always did find ways to outdo herself every year.' _

I was really starting to have a greater appreciation for houses after seeing the one Hisashi took me to yesterday.

_'Hisahi… I wonder how he's doing or if he went to ,Yahiko's.'_

Putting the key in the keyhole and unlocking the door, I stepped inside. The place didn't change one bit compared to its exterior. I follow the hallway that lead me to the bedrooms. One of the doors was open so I peered inside. It was a no brainer that the room belonged to Lady Tsunade. There were piles of books and papers along with an empty bottle of sake on the desk. Seeing as there were only two rooms, the next room had to belong to her son.

As I turned the door knob I wondered what he looked like. He must have looked as cutie as a button the way Tsunade was fretting over him. Who knows maybe I might even gush over him when I saw him and he could call me his big sister!

I knocked on the door.

_Knock! Knock!_

But there was no response. I did hear some movement but none of it sounded like he was going to get out of bed or answer me. He must have been pretty sick.

The door was unlock so it was easy to enter. The room looked bare, it held no clues of what his personality was like. He didn't even have toys for crying out loud. No toy car, no posters of someone or a sport he liked not even a game console.

I walked closer to the body wrapped up in a bundle of covers. The only thing that was expose was the top of his brown hair, he face was cover with the sheets.

"Poor thing, you're suffering in more ways than one. First your mom doesn't buy you anything to play with and now you're as sick as a dog." I said as I put my hand under the cover and felt his forehead.

He was burning up!

"I'm gonna have to get you a moist towel to put on your head to cool you down a bit." I said to the sleeping boy as I pulled back my hand.

Seeing as I knew Lady Tsunade's house like the back of my hand, in an instant I was back in the room with a bowel of ice cold water and a wet towel that I was in the process of wring out. As soon as the moist towel touched his forehead, his hand shot out and grabbed me, pushing me to the floor with him on top of me and the person on top of me was far from a _little_ boy.

"What are you doing here George?" Hisashi, Lady Tsunade's son asked.

"Tsunade-shishou sent me over to bring medicine for her son." I explained as calmly as anyone could with a shirtless boy pinning them to the ground.

Hisashi slowly moved off of me and laid down next to me even though his bed was right there. I turned my head to take a good look at him to, you know see if he was okay, not to stare at him well tone abs or anything.

Hisashi raised his hand to his forehead, rubbing it in a circular motion. "I told her I don't need any meds." He said in a voice that clearly stated the opposite.

He answer alone confirmed that he was indeed her son as well as the fact that he really didn't like medicine. He swore so much in that one sentence, that my mind blocked it out. I sat up and put my hand on his forehead once again only this time he didn't snatch it. His skin felt sticky, he was cold sweating.

"Hisashi can you hear me?" I asked rubbing his cheek, not caring if he was hot and sticky. He looked too feeble and weak for me to care about that or the fact that if he were well he wouldn't want me to touch him like this . He didn't even answer me.

"Hisashi, you have to get back in bed okay?" I cooed trying to get him to get off the floor.

Hisashi helped me the best he could to stand on his two feet and get into bed, which was very little. It was like I was dragging a few sacks of potato stacked on top each other. With his arms slung around my shoulder I managed to get most of his body on the bed, the upper half that is. I could still feel his ragged breathing on my neck even though it was gone and all that was left was the feeling of a burning sensation on my neck.

The hard part was over, now it was time for the easy part, to hoist his feet on the bed and give him his medication. I ran into the kitchen to get a glass of room temperature water for him to drink after he took him medicine. I shook Hisashi awake gentle, trying to ignoring the pained expression on his face. His eyes fluttered open very slowly.

"It's time to take your medicine so open your mouth Hisashi." I said softy and slowly so he would understand.

He did as he was told without making a fuss or using his colorful vocabulary.

I pored the orange liquid into its little measuring cap and put it to his lips, watching it slide into his mouth. He made a sour face, the same one everybody makes after have tasted the after taste of **Dayquil**. I held the strew to his lips as he drank the water greedily to get rid of the unwanted after taste. Treating Hisashi like a baby was kind of funny seeing as he was such a tough guy but I guess it goes to show that everyone has a moment of weakness.

_'I wonder if Sasuke did? Knights had weaknesses too right?'_

My task was done. I gave Hisashi his medicine and it was time for me to boogie but first…

I had check his temperature and change the moist towel on his forehead. He still felt clammy but that was nothing to worry about or so I thought.

"Hisashi, I'm going to leave now, don't worry I'll lock the door behind me." I said to the half dazed boy.

Hisashi grab a hold of me once again and pulled me on to the bed, "No don't leave Sakura." He said in a slur.

Now here I was instead of on my way out the door, I was in bed with Hisashi clinging to me for dear live, holding me like I would disappear. I let out an aggregated sigh. This was not something I needed to happen to me no matter how much I liked being like this with him, I know it wasn't right. It wasn't the same.

_'Maybe it would be different if it was Sasuke.' _

There I go again abandoning my feeling for Naruto because my body liked what was happening. There was no way I could like neither Sasuke or Hisashi because my heart belonged to him and I was about to prove it once again.

"Hisashi, let go of me!" I said through gridded teeth as I tried to escape his vice grip. Note that the key word is 'tried'. The boy's grip was too strong, it was like the more I fought to get free, the tighter he held on and the closer I got to him. Our bodies fit perfectly together, like two puzzle pieces, like we have practice being in this position so many times that it became second nature. I didn't like it, I didn't like it one bit.

"Stay with me," he pleaded, "just for a little while please."

"Okay." I said forcing myself to relax, Hisashi pulled me closer." thank you Sakura-chan for staying."

I don't know what made me do it, no I knew what made me do it. Hisashi sounded like he didn't want to be left alone. Maybe he was afraid of being alone or maybe he was afraid of what or who would come for him when he was alone. Trying to understand the reason why Hisashi wanted me to stay with him like, this was turning into too much of a headache for me.

_'Maybe I should ask him about this when he's better.' _

We stayed like this for an hour before he fell asleep. This was my chance to slip away. I mental did a vitory dance as I moved very slowly out of his grasp. I did it! I was free! Now all I have to do was get out of the room very quietly.

**_'Why would you answer me? Hello? This is your cell phone. What you think your not gonna answer, your goona just keep me in your pocket like I'm some dirty little BEEP! Well, I'm not gonna ring forev'_**

Of all the times for my mother to return my phone calls, when I'm trying not to make a sound. Every other time I called she doesn't even call me back.

_'Why did today have to be the day that she does?'_

I fumbles with getting my cell phone out of my pocket. When I finally had it, I ended the call and put it on silent. I finally knew how the squirrels feel when they stop in the middle of the road to eat their nut only to have a car honk their horn causing them to run. That was me right at this moment.

I froze listening to see if there was any movement behind me.

"Sakura?" Hisashi called in a sleepy voice.

I took off down the hallway hearing him right behind me. I knew that if I didn't run faster or throw something in my way I was toast. Instead of throwing down something that would cause me to have to answer to Lady Tsunade's fist I ran faster til I made it to the front door. But the damn door wouldn't open! I turn all the locks and twisted the handle til the door pulled open and ran outside but I stopped running when I was one the porch. It was raining cats and dogs again.

"Hn, it severs you right for trying to leave without saying good bye to me George." Hisashi leaned against the door frame, smirking at me as he pulled out a cigarette from the pack.

I glared at him, anger set in my eyes. "This is your fault!" I said poking him in the chest. " I could have made it home before it rain but _you_ kept me back!" I yelled.

With the cigarette in his mouth he looked for his lighter while talking to me, "Hey, I didn't stop you from doing anything, you could have left anytime you wanted."

I was royally piss at this point and wanted my revenge. Hisashi found his lighter and what about to fick the lid to light the cigarette. If he thought that I was going to stand there and let he smoke another one of those around me again he was dead wrong. I snatched the lighter and the cigarette from his mouth in two swift swipes.

"What do you think you were going to do?" I asked sweetly.

He looked from his empty hands to my fill ones, his hand and mouth, still the same way it was when he had his stuff. "I was gonna take a smoke. Is it a crime to smoke a bogie now?" he raise an eyebrow.

"No but it's a crime to your body to smoke these things." I said shaking the objects in my hand.

He was going to protest but instead let out a sneeze and held himself. I rolled my eyes at him. He was willing to stay outside and argue with me bare back in the pouring rain, as sick as a dog for a lighter and a cigarette. He really was something else.

"In you go."I said as I pushed him inside.

I gave him strict instructions to take a nice warm shower in order to add some warmth to his body. Once again he didn't put up a fight but I could tell it was eating him up inside that I was bossing him around and that I took the rest of his pack of smoke and gave him a detailed lecture on the harm it does to his body. When Hisashi was out of ear shot, I waited til I hear water running before I dialed Sasuke's number.

_"Hello this is Sasuke Uchiha. Sorry I can't answer your call right now but leave you name, number and a brief message after the beep and I'll get back to you if you're not a fangirl."_

"Hi Chicken butt! You know who this is, your favorite person! Anyway I need you to pick me up after you finish practice. I'm at Tsunade's."

I flipped the screen close and looked at the time.

_'Great now I'm stuck here for the next forty-five minutes.'_

Deciding that I shouldn't waste my time doing nothing, I took out my homework and started it. If Naruto was here I knew he would be saying how nerdy I was for choosing to do homework over goofing off. On days like this I really missed his stupid jokes that were not funny in the least.

_'At least I still had the gang and Sasuke even though Naruto is gone.'_

A thought came to mind.

_'What if they had met before he passed away?'_

I chuckled at the thought of what would happen if Naruto ever met Sasuke. They would have been a riot without a shadow of a doubt. I stopped smiling, noticing something. Sasuke was like Naruto in some ways though I know a lot of people who would say otherwise. Where Naruto was bubbly and friendly, Sasuke was brewing and reserved. To me that didn't make them _all_ that different. Whenever they smiled it was the brightest and full of life, they both like to help people, whether Sasuke wanted to admit it or not and they both were wise beyond their years…ok so Naruto acted like an idiot most of the time but it's true. It made me wonder if he knew he wasn't coming back that night.

_'Was he just acting like his normal goofy self to protect me from know the true?'_

I held on to my necklace and looked at it. There was no way he knew he was going to die. I don't even know when I'm going to die.

_Ding Dong!_

I shook my head, ridding it of such ridiculous thoughts. That must have been Sasuke at the door, here to pick me up. I opened the door saying, "Hang on, let me get my stuff and-" but I stopped talking when I saw that the person in front of me wasn't Sasuke but someone else. It was a girl.

It made sense though why I would think that she was Sasuke at first glance, they had the same jet black raven hair only hers was waist length long and she had white eyes. Taking a better look at her, I noticed that she had on Konoha's public school uniform. The green skirt and inch shorter than it should have been with knee high socks that I was should went against school rules, her red sailor tie hanging loosely around the collar of her short sleeve shirt with the first two buttons undone showing her netted under shirt. She didn't look slutty in the less, she look like very nice in a punk rocker kind of way.

"Take a picture it last longer." She barked impatiently, arms folded over her chest.

"Sorry." I side stepped allow her to enter.

"Took you long enough to move out of the way." She said under her breath as she entered.

_'I totally should have expected an attitude like that from the way she dressed.'_

We sat there in silence, the girl and I. I didn't see the point in starting a conversation with her, she looked like she wanted nothing to do with me. She kept on glaring at me or shooting me looks of disgust or was it jealousy and I didn't know why. There was no reason for her to be looking at me like that, I didn't do anything to her and I wasn't better looking than her.

_'Maybe she's Hisashi's girlfriend.'_

If she was, it would explain why she was looking at me with such venom but I still didn't understand. She looked like she was more of Hisashi's type, strong, independent, cool and sexy. I was none of those things. She shouldn't care that I was here or even think of me as she competition with looks like that.

"Hinata, what are you doing here?" Hisashi said walking in to the living room with a towel around his bare shoulder, hair still damp.

The girl, Hinata threw a heavy looking bookbag at the sick boy, who wasn't looking as sick as he was before. "You didn't come to school today so I brought your class work and school work."

Hisashi seemed to catch it with easy or made it look like he did.

"Aww, I didn't know you cared about me Hina-chan." Hisashi said with a smirk.

"As if." She rolled her eyes. "That idot, Kiba, left it a Yahiko's and Konan asked me to bring it here and don't add 'chan' to my name, that for weakling girls like her." Hinata said gesturing with a shake of her head at me.

"So did I miss anything today? Or was it same old same old?" Hisashi asked with a serious face.

A smirk formed on her lips and she looked at me as if she were happy to know something I didn't. "Neji lose to Bushybrow."

"Oh fucking way! It final happened and I wasn't there!" Hisashi exclaimed in disappointment.

I never seen Hisashi act this way, so lively and the conversation was flying over my head. Instead of trying to understand what they were talking about, which they obviously didn't want me to know, I continued doing my homework. I would give anything for Sasuke to come a rescue me form this awkward moment of being left out of the loop.

_**'We interrupt what you are watching right now to bring you this exciting story, you cell phone is actually ringing.'**_

All eyes were on me.

I answered one time. "Hello?"

"I'm outside, Pinky."

"Okay I'll be out in a minute." I stated before ending the call.

I tried not to look like I was overjoyed that I would be leaving. I repacked my books in my messenger bag and placed it over my shoulder before walking out towards the door.

"Well it was nice to meet you Hinata-san." I said smiling at her politely.

"Yea same here...I guess" she said like she could care less.

"Bye Hisashi, I hope you feel a little better."

Hisashi nodded his head. "Bye Goerge."

I had my hand on the door knob when for some reason I felt like I was forgetting something. My skirt was being weighed down and I didn't know why.

_'What could I have in there that is so heavy?' _

That right, I had Lady Tsunade's keys. I almost left the house with them. I turned around and walked up to Hisashi. His eyes looking at me to see what I would do, Hinata's eyes following my every step. I dipped into pocket and pulled out a ring of keys and handed it him. Hisashi looked confused but took it anyway.

"She gave me the keys to get into the house. What did you think I did, break in?" I answered the question he didn't ask aloud."I'm going now."

"Wait." He said for the second time today.

I stood still, waiting.

"Arent you forgetting to give me back something else, like my stuff." He asked innocently.

I blinked a couple of time before smiling and answering, "Nope. That was all."

The inside of Sasuke's car was as cold as the outside, possible even colder. I was freezing but it looked like Sasuke had no intenion of turning down the AC and turning on the heater.

"It's like a deep freezer in here Chicken Butt. Are your trying to kill me?" I complained.

Sasuke stretched his hand behind my seat, eyes never leaving the road and put something on my lap. "Use my jacket to keep you warm because I'm not taking off the AC." Sasuke stated.

Sasuke's jacket fit me more like a dress with extra long sleeves. And even though he said that he wouldn't turn off the AC he did turn it down so it wasn't blowing as hard as it was before. He really did care about me.

_'He could be my Knight. Sasuke or Hisashi.'_

**_To Be Continued…_**

* * *

**Boy, was this hard to write. As you can see Sakura it totally in denial about a lot of things. Hint Hint Wink Wink. I know you guys are smart enough to figure out what I'm talking about! ... you are right? Of course you are! Who are my brilliant readers? You are! Yes you are! T.T Okay, okay, I'll stop...if you review!**

**But seriously you guys review, follow, favorite or something. i feel like you guys dont like it. :( Anywho...**

**_Until next time people._**

**_Ja ne Mina! _**


	8. Wreckage

**Yola Mina! for once I'm going to warn you in advance.**

**WARNING: Some scenes are very graphic ( T.T Violent ppl not what you're thinking.) and not appropriated for children. Kids, do NOT try this at home. **

**Now that I have done that, you can read it but don't say I didn't warn you.**

**Chapter 8**

**Wreckage **

Since I started to sit in the cafeteria with my friends, I ate on the roof top less and less but that didn't stop me from hang out with Jugo, Karin or Suigestu, instead I hung out with them after school sometimes. It turns out that Suigestu was friend with Sasuke… well kind of so Jugo, Karin and Suigetsu would eat with us sometimes. As the days flew by, no one was iffy about them sitting with us. I think they accepted them because I did.

_'At least somebody trusted my sense of judgment.'_

I couldn't say that I trusted it too much at the moment. Karin and Suigetsu thought it would be a good idea to carry me to one of their hang outs. By the way Jugo protested I wasn't so sure I should go. The place reeked of danger.

"I don't think Sakura should go in with us." Jugo protested.

But it was too late we were already here, at an abandon building, hopping the wire gridded fence. If I thought that Yahiko's house was in a state, this place looked like a riot or a few raves hit it hard. Most of the windows were broken which ever didn't hold shards of broken glass, were boarded up with planks of wood. The paint looked like really chapped lips only worse because the paint was cracking and peeling away, showing the concert beneath it. The building stood tall, not showing any signs of falling to the ground with one or a couple of blows from the big bad wolf.

"So what do you want us to do? Leave her here and let her find her way home?" Suigetsu asked Jugo as he stood on the other side of the fence, helping me down.

"Well…" Jugo thought, inner conflict showing on his face.

Since the beginning Jugo was skeptical about showing me the place they went to ditch school for. He didn't think it was for people as innocent as me to go or be seen. Karin and Suigetsu thought that today would be an exception as they were going after school and 'the place would be less crowded.' Was what they said.

"Her mom already thinks that she is sleeping at my house tonight so there is nothing else we can do but take her in with us. If we leave her out here, who knows what character she might bounce into. And you know how _they_ could be." She said 'they' darkly.

_'What have I gotten myself into?'_

The sign on the door said:

**'DANGER! ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK!' **Written in bold and in red paint.

Karin, Suigetsu and Jugo didn't pay it no mind. They walked past it like it meant nothing to them but I meant something to me. People don't just put up a sign like that on an old building for fun or just because. I was in serious hot water.

I backed away only to bounce in to something. No, it was a person, to be more exact a character.

The guy looked like he could be the brother of franlinste's monster, he had tattoos all over his body looking someone sewed him back together. I finally understood why Karin said that. I bowed and mumbled a quick apology. He grabbed my hand and I feel the…stiching in them.

_'Oh my god! The stiches were real!'_

I was hyperventilating.

"I've never seen you around here before." He commented.

I didn't know how to respond to that, I didn't want to say the wrong thing that would cause me to end up like him… I was in deeper than I originally thought.

"She's with me." Jugo confirmed taking a hold of me. The crazed look in his eyes scared me but hey, it was either him or patchy over there.

I stayed close to Jugo as he maneuvered through the crowd. Karin said there wouldn't be many people today but the place was packed! I could feel people's skin and clothing brushing up against my exposed arms and legs. I felt so _dirty_. Who knew where these people were before they came here. Most of them were in still in their school uniform just like us. Karin didn't even give me a chance to go home and change because she didn't want to miss whatever was going to happen here.

"Oh good! It didn't start yet." Karin sighed.

"See? I told ya so!" Suigetsu grinned.

In front of me was a cage, a big one. Not just any old cage, oh no it was a wrestling ring inclosed in a cage, liked the ones you see on tv with only one way in and one way out. I was going to see a real underground cage match. No wonder Jugo didn't want me to come, my innocence would be ruined.

_'I can't believe these things actually happen and people actually come to see it.'_

Maybe I shouldn't have asked where they go when they ditch school, or where they hang out sometimes. Before today, whenever I hung out with them, we went over to one of our houses. It turned out that Karin and Sugestu's parents were nice, friendly and_ polite _it was just their kids that were a problem. Jugo's parent were not as I expected them to be. They didn't give a lick about what their son was doing or who he was calling 'friends'.

Now here I was, at this…cage match because I thought I was ready to roll with them. I was a punk and they knew it hence why they only took me to their houses. I felt like all this time I was being babysat.

A man wearing a headband slanted over one eye and, surgical mask walked into the cage, only wielding a microphone in his hand.

"Welcome ladies and gents! Are you ready to see this weeks match?" He said to pump up the audience.

The crowd went wild, screaming, shouting, pushing over what the silver headed announcer asked . I was forced to movecloser to the cage.

He continued," That's not convincing enough. Are you ready?" he shout the last sentence.

They sreamed harder, shouted harder and even _pushed_ harder. I was so out of place here. This was worse than being in a mosh pit with heavy metal lovers. I was out of my element.

_'I take it back, I want to be babysat.'_

The announcer wasn't over. "Now that's more like it! Come on out boys the crowd is waiting to see who's gonna walk out of here on their own after this match." He paused allowing the two fighters to come into view.

The two fighters entered the ring each of them in their own zone mentally and literally. You could just tell by looking at them. They both looked mean but in different ways. One had short red head, black eye liner around his eyes and something written on his forehead. I watched him as knelt down at the corner of the ring, talking to who seemed to be his coach. He wore clothes that you would see a character from some fighting video game wearing. He even had on a pair of red gloves that bore a striking resemblance to that of Ryu's from the Street Fighter video game.

_'He must either really love to fight or has an obsession fighting game.' _

my eye wandered to the other side of the ring, looking at his a opponent. The other was a guy with shaggy brown hair with what looked like red paint in the shape of triangles on his cheeks. he naturally looked more animal like than human and the clothes he was wearing didn't help him either. There were bandages wrapped around his forearms and shins, he sported a black boxer shorts with the words "Rising" and "Death" written on his left and right sides respectively. There was a flurry of excitement afoot as he pierced the air with a flurry of well thrown punches, unlike his slender opponent his body was built a bit more sturdy and steadfast

The sad thing was that they both looked to be around my age. This made me sick to my stomach.

"In this corner we have, Dog Fang!"

The crowd howled and barked. It wasn't hard to tell which one of the fighters was the one with the animalistic name especially when he was basking in his glory,showing his sharp pearly whites.

"And in this corner we have, Sandy!"

By deduction,Sandy had to be the boy who was obsessed with fighting games. The noise level rose through the roof. I had to use my hands like sound cancellers in order to save my ear drums. The announcer silenced the horde of rowdy people by putting up his hand in the air to signal everyone to stop talking. The place went dead. It was clear to see who was in charge here. "Dog Fang's opponent was a no show must be because they were afraid to get bitten."

Dog Fang did a chopping movement to add on to what he was saying. His loud and boisterous persona had the crowd in frenzy, rolling in laughter. I on the other hand not amused.

"But lucky for us Sandy agreed to take his place."

Sandy gave a sick, twisted look to the crowd when his name was said.

I cringed at how the crowd rejoiced that the match would begin, that the carnage was only moment away form happening. I could hear the metal fence being shook and rattled as the silver-haired phantom of a referee announced the start of the match, "Try not to kill each other" and with a swift downward swing of his hand followed by the sound of a bell the two fighters walked to face each other.

They greeted one another by touching their gloves together, before I could even blink a blur of motion exploded from the middle of the ring as Sandy's left foot barely missed Dog Fang's chin. I could feel my heart stop for a few seconds because it seemed as if that kick had connected _someone's_ head would have been knocked straight off his shoulders. However the fighter skillfully dodged the blow and began to bounce on his feet as a smirked appeared on his face, which then turned into a creepy grin…

_'Like what the hell do these dudes think about when they're in the ring, seriously.'_

Sandy kept his poker face in check as he calmly maneuvered in the ring, looking for an opening. Dogfang wasn't prepared to give him that chance however, he had to gain the initiative if was to take a hold of the match. He charged into Sandy in a manner that seemed violent, even by martial art standards. Sandy's eyes widened as he readied himself by switching stances to put his right foot forward then using the momentum of his movement to position himself into a roundhouse kick. Dogfang instinctively made what seemed like an instantaneous decision he turn his charge into a tackle as he slid onto his knee and connected with Sandy with a sliding tackle.

_'By soccer standards that would be called as a foul!'_

But of course no one else cared about that. they only want see a fight. It didn't matter what the other guy did to win as long as the crowd like it.

Sandy's body was send plummeting to the mat, the crowed rose in anticipation to see whether the match would be ended by Dog Fang's next move. As much as I didn't like this "Dog Fang" I had to admit he had some animal-like instinct which made his fit to be on this stage but in my mind I was rooting for our red headed Sandy, not really because I liked him but because I just didn't want to see "_Dog Face_" win.

Before Sandy could attempt to get back to his feet, Dog Fang attempted to lock him into submission with a grappling hold…which failed miserably as an enraged expression appeared on the face of the once calm and cool Sandy. His right foot stamped the mat then he made a 90 degree angle with his knee which he then swung upwards to connect with Dog Fang's head. The sound of the impact crawled my spine as the crowd screamed in excitement.

I looked around to examine my surroundings Karin was cussing' out Suigetsu as he smiled cockily, I could hear Jugo saying that personal feelings should be put aside when places wagers…..which had no effect on the two, sight…

"No fucking way! Dog Fang get your ass up off the floor!" Karin yelled, shaking the fence.

"I already told you, he is down for the count so just give me my fifty buck and I'll be on my way to the bar." Suigetsu told the irate Karin.

"I don't owe you jack shit sharkboy! this fight ain't over until I win this bet."

"I don't think that it right for you two to be betting in the first place but really, you should let personal feeling get involved.

_'Poor Jugo as big and tough he is on the outside no one seems to pay him any mind… Gentle giant much? '_

The rest of the crowd was begging for more, the kind of things they were screaming was too much for me to take in. I focused my attention once again on the fighters in the ring. Dog Fang was shaken up by the blow that he had received as he shook his head to regain his composure I could see a trickle of red trail down the side of his head.

"That my boy! Kick his sandy ass!" Karin yelled, fist wailing in the air along with countless other.

My hand automatically reached my mouth in disbelief. This was a total 'Oh my God!' moment. I looked over to the referee to see if he'd make the call….but he just watched both fighters and told them to continue. I had a bad feeling about the whole thing.

"Someone could die and they would be happy to have seen it." I whispered to myself.

I really didn't want to see that happen before my eyes but I couldn't turn away. I had to see how this would end, to show myself that if something really bad were to happen, someone would care, someone would stop it.

When Dog Fang had realized he was bleeding ,it got him even angrier than he already was. The fact that his opponent was basically unharmed took a toll on his pride. His features became more animalistic. Dog Fang's inexperience at being at a disadvantage got the better of him as he once again charged head first into his opponent. Sandy remained steadfast and stood his ground, accepting his opponent's challenge.

Dog Fang proceeded with an unusual maneuver yet, at the same time it fit his situation quite well.

During his mad dash he sprung up into the air and position his legs to deliver an all or nothing flying kick to his opponent, this was definitely his last desperate shot to clench his victory or defeat. The kick landed, the sound of muscle hitting muscle could be heard amidst the cheering of the crowd which then grew silent to get a hint to what had happened.

Sandy pulled a risky one, blocking Dog Fang's full frontal attack. And as Dog Fang's feet touched the mat to firmly anchor his body to the floor, another sharp sound was heard and Dog Fang's body fell limp across the canvas. The site was horrific and my body went numb. I could feel the warmth escape me as if I had taken that blow instead of him. The moment Dog Fang landed, Sandy connected his elbow directly to his head, the same spot that had been gashed open earlier with his knee, the blow further opened up his wound sending blood trailing across the ring even on to the referee's white shirt and mask.

_'This would explain why he wears that mask, this must happen often.'_

The crowd went berserk as they cheered their victor, amongst the many things disturbing me, one other thing was that no one boo-ed the victor, no one was sad that a fighter had lost…..it was as if their only thrill was seeing the brutalization of another.

Standing in the outer layer on the cage, handing Dogfang a bottle of water, was no other then, Hisashi. Funny when I feel lose or think I'm in some sense of danger, he's always there. I prayed and hoped that he wouldn't notice me. The last thing I needed was to get in trouble for doing something stupid. Hisashi paid me no mind and I preferred it that way but just in case…

"Um you guys? Where is the bathroom?" I asked.

Karin led the way to the restroom, claiming that she had to go too. Thought they could afford to buy a huge steel cage, they only had two bathrooms, one for men and one for women. i went into the bathroom and it looked… if I had to pee, I didn't need to anymore. It wasn't bad but it was three star restaurant worthy either. I put my hands on the counter top, propped myself up as I looked in the mirror.

_'Why is it that I don't want him to see me?' _

He wasn't my father. He wasn't my brother. He wasn't my uncle. He wasn't my cousin. He wasn't my boyfriend. Shit, he wasn't even my _friend_. He was Hisashi, someone I bare scratched the surface of knowing. I shouldn't have to hide, it's a free country. I could be here or anywhere I wanted to be. He wasn't the boss of me and I didn't care about what he thought of me.

_'And yet I cared if he saw me here or not.'_

I looked in the mirror at the girl staring back at me. Her face said that I was lying to myself, that I _did_ care about he thought just as much as I wished he were something to me.

_'No, no, no! I didn't want that. I just…'_

My hand automatically went to my necklace, clutching it, trying to understand this feeling of…longing, of acceptance. I didn't feel this way about Sasuke. I there wasn't a need to feel this way about Sasuke. because he accepted me a long time ago.

"Hey what's taking you so long in there? You sterilizing the place or something?" Karin yelled banging on the door.

I sighed and pulled the door open. Karin ran past me and locked the door, shutting me out. I stood by the restroom, waiting for Karin to come out. I wasn't about to take any chances walking back to where Jugo and Suigetsu were, in fear of meeting another character. It turned out that I didn't have to walk to meet one.

"It's a rare sight seeing a cherry blossom on the battlefield." Someone commented to me.

I gulped knowing that this was a character saying these words to me. It was like no matter if I chose to stay or go, I was sure to have one of them approach me. I had to do something quick.

"Um yeah, I don't really come here…" I spoke.

The person in front of me wasn't a character at all; it was girl, a normal girl in her school uniform just like me. We were in the same boat, both our friends were in the bathroom and we were waiting for them to come out. She was very pretty, more feminine then me! Her long black hair falling on her back, the ends spiking out at the sides giving her a rebel slash rocker hairstyle. There was no variation in her uniform other than the choker around her neck. There was nothing off putting about her and it was nice.

_'I don't know what I would have done if she was another character.' _

"So tell me something." She said leaning in closer to tell me a secret, "You wanna go upstairs and have some fun?"

_'What?'_

"What?" I asked.

"Well it makes no sense waiting for them when we know their gonna be in there for a while. I mean I'm bored and you're bored so let's take advantage of this and do something a little more _exciting_." She said licking my ear.

I was in a state of shock. She was coming on to me! I'm not homophobic; there is nothing wrong with girls liking girls, as long as it wasn't **me**.

I backed away and at the speed I was doing it at, it looked like I was doing the electric slide.

"Sorry but I like boys."

"That's not a problem." She replied looking content with my answer.

This girl was off her rocker! You think telling a lesbian that you liked boys would get her to take a hint that you didn't like her or any girl for that matter.

"Well you know I'm the kind of person that could be your boy or girl which ever tickles your fancy.

"Uh…" I was speechless.

There was no comeback to that, none whatsoever. I was dealing with a real freak! If only I had said no to coming. If only I had listened to Sasuke when he warned me about hanging out with Jugo, Karin and Suigetsu. If only I hadn't ducked Hisashi. If only…

Suddenly someone put their arm around my waist, pulling me closer to them and gave me a kiss on my forehead. At that moment I thought I was in one of the 'Godfather' movies and was getting the kiss of death but it was the opposite.

"There you are **_honey_**, I was looking everywhere for you. But I see you were having a nice **_friend_**ly conversation with Haku." Hasashi said stretching the words 'honey' and 'friend' in 'friendly'.

I was never more grateful for Hisashi's presence.

"Why Hisashi, I didn't know you had a girlfriend." Freaky girl known as Haku said smiling.

Before I could deny Haku's claim, Hisashi beat me to the punch.

"I can't tell people because guys like you will try and steal her away to spite me." Hisashi shot back.

_'Did he just say guy? Haku's a _guy_?'_

The more I thought about it, he was a guy. His name was Haku,a guy name. he hit on me, a guy thing to do. He dressed in girls' clothing…

_'I'm so confused.'_

Haku looked at me, smiling as he said, "It was nice to meet you and you have a good _friend_ who cares alot about you." Haku said smirking at Hisashi before he left.

"That son of a bitch saw straight through me." Hisashi hissed in anger. "Cocky bastard!"

I didn't know what to say to Hisashi. He just pretended to be my boyfriend to scare away Haku, he even kissed me. A feeling of familiarity washed over me.

_'This was happening too much.' _

"So George, care to tell me what you're doing in a place like this?" he asked, breaking the silence.

I knew what he was really saying,' So George care to tell me what a nice girl like you are doing in a place like this. You don't belong here.' I was going to prove him wrong.

I shrugged. "Just hanging out with some friends."

"Oh really now and where are they?" he challenged.

"Well one of them is in the bathroom and the others are still by the cage." I said pointing to their locations, his eyes following.

He raised an eyebrow. "Geroge, there is no over there and there's no one in any of the bathrooms."

And he was right, they weren't weren't I said they would be. They left me here alone. Of course I looked for them before I came to that conclusion. My parents were right, friends carry you but they don't bring you back.

"I can't believe they left me like that in a place I don't know!" I mumbled feeling hurt.

More than ever I wished I had listened to Sasuke. I could remember his words very clearly.

_'Pinky, I don't think it's a good idea to hang out with them outside of school.'_ Sasuke told me one day on the way to dropping me home_. 'The things I've heard about them…aren't good. There is nothing wrong with talking to them in school but you have to draw the line at that Sakura. They're not the best people to have as friends.'_

I mentally rolled my eyes at how protective he was being. Whenever it came to me hanging out with them he would glare at Suigetsu as if threatening him that if anything happened to me he would skin them alive. He never gave Jugo the look or Karin, always Suigetsu. I didn't know if it was because they were friends or because he didn't think that Karin or Jugo would listen to him. What I did know was that he was right, so right.

The place was booming, it was in full swing. People were flooding in which would explain why when I was looking for Karin, Jugo and Suigetsu, I had to push and squeeze my way through.

_'Finding them is like finding Waldo.' _

Hisashi followed me, not saying a word. I thought that he was going to take the lead in the search for my friends but maybe it was better that I was in front of him. He could watch my back and could watch straight ahead, knowing that someone I can trust is watching my back. My face was heated as a thought crossed my mind.

_'What if He's not watching my back but my ass?' _

I stole a glance behind me, acting like I was checking to see it he was still behind me. His head was facing forward, eyes looking like he was deep in thought even though he was looking dead ahead. I looked forward and walked faster. I was a little hurt that he wasn't looking at me…

"You're walking to slow George." Hisashi sighed as he grabbed my hand and lead the rest of the way.

The cold night air bit at my skin, chilling me to the bone. I held myself, try to stop shivering. Hisashi stood next to me, not affected at all by the weather but why would he, he was wearing a jacket. I guess he was as cold as me because he zipped it up and put his hoodie over his head.

"Don't worry," he started say, "your ride should be here soon."

"My ride?" I asked confused.

I had not a clue what he was talking about. No one knew I was here.

Hisashi pulled out my cellphone from his pocket, dangling it in front of me. "You really need to put this in safer places. Do you know how easy it was for me to take this out of your back pocket?"

"…" I didn't say anything.

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Look George, I know you think you have a right to be here but _you_ don't. This place isn't for _you_. Have you _seen_ the people in there? You can't even protect your cellphone and I don't _do_ babysitting and apparently neither does your friends.

Now I was mad. How dare he say those things to me! I wouldn't stand for it, especially from some punk!

"Don't talk like you know me Hisashi!" I said darkly. " I don't need you to tell me things I already know. So what if I don't fit in! So what if someone takes my cell phone, I'll buy a new one. It my Fucking life and I could do what I want.

"You think I said that because I give two shits about what happens to you? Oh fuck no bitch, I stopped caring about weak people like you a long time ago. If you want to be more fucked up then you are now, go ahead just do expect me to come to your rescued." He walked off. "I ain't no fucking knight from your storybooks princess."

_'I sure did it now.'_

I pasted around to keep myself warm and also because I was formulating a plan just in case I had another encounter with a character. Eventually I sighed and sat on the broken pavement, looking up at the beautiful night sky. There were so much things I hadn't figured out.

_'How did things manage to turn out this way? Why did they ditch me like that? Where are they? Do I go home or to Karin's house? Did she even go home? What would the rents say when I walk through the door at midnight? Would they be up when I sneak in or sleeping? What do I tell them? Why was Hisashi so mad? Did he really think that it was a good idea to leave me out here alone, to wait? Who was I waiting on? Who was coming to pick me up at this hour?'_

Some of the answers were obvious. They were where they wanted to be without me. I couldn't go home or to Karin's house. If my parents were to see me at this time of night on the streets or even darkening their door step, I would be grounded until I'm fifty. And yes Hisashi really left me here by myself. The other questions I couldn't answer, I would have to wait and see.

The wait was agonizingly long and the more I tried not to think about who it was, the more nervous I became. There was no way of knowing who it was because Hisashi was a smart one.

_'Don't mind that he was dumb enough to leave me alone out here.'_

He was very smart. There wasn't a trace of who he contacted. My inbox and outbox were still empty and my last out-going call was still to my mom at three forty-five this afternoon. I wished more than anything that it was someone I still talked to in my live, that it wasn't a relative or a blurry mouth, that it was someone I could trust to keep this to themselves, that it was…

"Pinky?"

Sasuke.

I let out a sigh of relieve. My wish came true, it was Sasuke! Good old reliable Sasuke. I wanted to cry but beamed at the boy before me, who clearly jumped out of his bed and went straight to his car to get me. Sasuke's hair wasn't as spiky as it usually was, instead it was a little flatter and his clothes were something I couldn't picture him wear.

He wore an old 'v' neck t-shirt that was tattered and torn with a long sweat pant and pink flip-flops.

All in all, Sasuke looked cool even when rudely awoken from his sleep, cute even. I could feel my cheeks heating up but I casted it aside as my body trying to warm me up, not as embarrassment of thinking of Sasuke that way.

"Hurry up and get in the car, I'm freezing out here." Sasuke grumbled.

The heat hit me as soon as I opened the car door, returning the color to my skin and the feeling into my hands. Though I was warm on the outside, I still felt cold and empty on the inside. Sasuke didn't help me feel any differently as he was quite for most of the ride.

Sasuke?" I spoke up when we reached a red light.

"Hn?" he tilted his head back, eyes closed and moaned.

I looked from Sasuke to down at me skirt, fiddling with my necklace. " I just wanted to say that I'm happy you're the one that came for me. I don't know what I would've done if it were someone else… I'm really happy it was you Sasuke! It's always been you that comes to my aid since Naruto…died. And I think that maybe…" I paused mentally preparing myself for the words I were going to say next, loosening my grip on the pendent. " you could be…you could be…" I looked at him. "YOU COULD BE MY-"

Sasuke was sleeping.

He didn't hear a word I just said.

He didn't hear my almost confession…

The car behind us honked their horn but that didn't stir the sleeping Sasuke. I shook him much more gently then I wanted to, causing the sleepy young man to get up. I didn't bother say anything to him for the rest of the car ride. Not because I was afraid that he would sleep away on me when I would try to talk to him but because I was afraid I might say something I'd regret.

_'I might confess again.' _

I manage to convince myself that it was in the heat of the moment that cause me to utter such, untrue words but I couldn't help but to think why I would do such a thing.

_'Could it because I feel so lonely now that Naruto is gone and I think that he could be that distraction? Or could it be that I wanted Sasuke to comfort me because of what Hisashi said?' _

Hisashi's words rang in my ear once more.

_I ain't no fucking knight from your storybooks princess._

The cold empty feeling returned.

_'I barely even know him and his words have such an affect on me.'_

None of this should be happening to me. I shouldn't feel this way. He's nothing to me, he's not Naruto! I could feel drops of water sliding down my face and landing on my shirt. I didn't even know I was crying until I felt something wiping my face.

"It's okay now pinky, you're not there anymore. You're on your way home now." Sasuke stated softly.

I widened my eyes momentarily forgetting why I was crying and that's Sasuke had the wrong reason for why I was crying.

"No! Don't take me home! My parents think I'm sleeping over at Karin's house tonight and if they see me still in my uniform at this time of night, if they take one look at me, they'll know I was lying to them!" I pleaded.

Sasuke took one look at me before gluing his eyes back to the road. "Okay, you could spend the night out at my house. Mom and dad went out for the weekend and Itachi is working the graveyard shift so no one should see you. I promise."

True to his word, no one did see me and the house was as empty as I felt. Sasuke lead me up the stairs to a room I knew too well from years of group projects, his bedroom.

Sasuke ran his hand through his hair, "I would put you in the guest room but it's a little messy at the moment so you'll be sleeping here and I'll use the guest room."

"No, it's okay!" I exclaimed. "A little mess won't kill me so you keep your bed and _I'll_ use the guest room."

Sasuke let out a aggregative sigh, "Would you just listen to me for once and do as I say. It's too early in the morning to be going through this shit."

"I don't want to cause you any discomfort so really, I don't mind sleeping in the guest room."

Sasuke sighed once again. "Look you have to options. You could either sleep in here and I sleep in the guest room or we can both sleep in this room."

I was slient, contemplating my options.

"And by the way, I have no intentions of letting you sleep on the floor or sleeping on the floor myself."

Sasuke's bed was comfortable, it felt like my own bed, the only difference was that it smelt of him. Laying here now reminded me of the times I use to lay in Naruto's bed. Though his bed was only big enough for one person, Naruto and I use to lay in it comfortably, talking about whatever came to mind.

_'I wonder if I would be this comfortable if Sasuke were laying down next to me right now.'_

I pulled the covers over my head, in embarrassment of the thought of me and Sasuke being like that. I only did those sorts of things with Naruto…and of late, Hisashi.

Hisashi…he reminded me so much of him, of Naruto! But they were polar opposites. Naruto was a knight every princess dream of having.

"he said he would always be mine…" was the last thing I said before letting sleep consume me and Sasuke's scent sooth me into the land of nod.

**_To Be Continued…_**

* * *

**Well, wasn't this chapter interesting? Did you read everything? Good! I had help writing the fight scene and I hope you like the action happening in it. Oh by the way when I said help, I mean I had my boyfriend write the fight scene because I suck at writing those. I don't think I make them detailed enough. I hope it was to your liking and that you'll leave me a review telling me what your take on the story is so far!**

**_Until next time people._**

**_Ja ne Mina! _**


	9. Blown to Pieces

**Yola Mina! So here it is, chapter 9. It took a while but i finished it and posted it for you guys to read. this chapter is a little more depressing than others but don't worry things get better as we move along... or does it get worse?**

**You know what? Just read it already.**

******Chapter 9**

**Blown to pieces**

_The moon hung in the sky as Naruto and I laid on his bed, waiting for his mother, Aunty Kushina to read us a bedtime story. I loved it when she would read stories to us before we went to sleep, it would always do the trick of knocking us out cold or it would keep us up. Begging for more. We hung onto her every word._

_"Okay you two, time for bed!"_

_Naruto and I scrambled under the covers and fixed ourselves the best we could on the bed which wasn't hard for a couple of six year olds. I would go on the right side and Naruto would go on the left with Aunty Kushina in the middle so we could see the pictures as she read._

_"So what are you going to read to us today mom?" Naruto asked. __"Is it about a knight slaying dragons?"_

_"Is it about a prince and his princess?" I inquired._

_Aunty shook her head." The name of the story is The Knight and The Princess."_

_"I never hear of that on before." I said, thinking of where she got it from._

_"Me too!" Naruto exclaimed "Mom, did you make up another story again?" he asked with a look that said he wouldn't believe her if she said no._

_"No naru-chan I didn't. This is a really story, one that didn't make it in the story books. So I wrote it down a long time ago in this book." she said giving the book a few pats._

_"So how do you know it Aunty?" I asked._

_She ruffled my pink locks. "It's a secret Sakura-chan." She winked._

_Before we could ask anymore question, she began telling the story of The Knight and The Princess._

_"Once upon a time, there was a kingdom filled with happiness and peace. Everyone in the kingdom knew of happiness but there were few that knew of sadness. The people who knew of this thing called the sadness, were the king __and his knight and his soldiers,_who were sent to war against their neighboring countries."

_As usual Naruto and I would interrupt her to ask questions._

_"Why is it that the people of the kingdom didn't know of the sadness?" Naruto asked._

_"Is it because they didn't care?" I asked._

_Aunty Kushina shook her head and continued the story,_

_"Though the soldiers knew of the sadness, that did not stop them from being happy nor did it stop them from keeping their friends or family from being happy. __The King didn't let the sadness of war get to him either__, instead he continued to rule the country fair anf just with the Queen and watch his daughter grow into a fine young woman." _

_She paused before continuing._

_"There was one person who let the sadness, the war, get to him and it was the knight. The knight couldn't bear to be around any one. He always chose to remain alone unless he was called to see the king or was being sent off to war. The people of the kingdom couldn't understand why the knight wasn't happy. He was the one that helped keep the peace and happiness in their beloved country. The king also wanted the knight to be happy so he summoned the knight to the throne room and asked, 'My humble knight, I've called you here to ask you what is it that you desire, that will make you happy?' " Aunty Kushina said in a deep voice, pretending to be the king._

_"The knight replied, 'The thing I seek my king, is the thing you cannot grant.' The king let out a laughed at what the young knight said and told the him 'How would you know I don't have it if you don't tell me what it is? I ask again knight, what is it that you want?' "_

_"What did he want?" we both asked, eager to know the answer. _

___" 'A person who knows of such true sadness and can still smile as bright as the sun thought the world has slandered it's happiness and peace of mind.' The knight stated, knowing there was no one in the kingdom like that. there was no one like himself who know of what affect war had on him. Little did he know that there was someone like the person he described."_

_"Who, who was it?" we asked._

_"Was it the princess?" I asked._

_"The knight was shock beyond words to know that there was someone like him who knew of true sadness. It was the princess of the Kingdom, she was the one that the knight sorted after. She knew of the true sadness but chose to smile every day."_

_"I knew it!" I cheered._

_"As the king told the knight all of this he couldn't believe his ears'The young princess of all people, knows of true sadness?' he thought to himself, 'She should be the happiest of them all in kingdom, her soon to be kingdom.' "_

_Naruto and I listened attentively as she told the story, fighting the urge to sleep in order to hear how the story would end._

_"The next day the king summoned the knight to his castle once again only this time he was told to go to the castle's garden. Sitting there under a tree was the princess. The knight was confused as to why she was there instead of her father who had called him. His better judgment told him to pay his respects to the princess and make her aqqantance though they know each other, they have never talked. Yet he chose, once again, to be alone." Aunty end with a close of the book._

_I couldn't believe that was the end of the story. It wasn't a happy ending at all! It was sad and confusing._

_"That's it? That's how it ends?" Naruto questioned, obviously as confused as I was._

I woke up confused. At first I thought I was seven years old again, laying in Naruto's bed, with him right beside me but it was a dream, a distant memory that chose to grace me with its long forgotten presence. But wait a cotton picking minute, this wasn't my room, this wasn't my bed and this sure as hell weren't my lion king covers, my clothes.

"Oh my god, I've got to get out of here!" I whispered.

My clothes were neatly folded up on a chair located in the corner of the room by a table. I paid little mind to the details of my surrounding as I hurried to put back on my clothes. I was almost in the clear, that is, until I open the door and came face to face with…Itachi?

I latched on to him, my savior, tightly.

"Oh thank God! Itachi, you're here!" I cried happily.

_'Now that Itachi is here, he'll deal with the people who took me last night.'_

"Of course I would be here, I _live_ here."

Leave it to my mind to remind me of something meaningless but forget something as important as this. Oh how cruel the human mind can be…

"Where's Sasuke?"

There was nothing I could say to that, my mind went blank after he said _' I live here.'_

"Good, you're finished changing into your school uniform." Was the first thing Sasuke said as he exited the guest room. "What's the problem Itachi?"

"For starts where were you?" Itachi questioned.

Sasuke jabbed a thumb to the room behind him. "Looking through some stuff."

"Okay." Itachi said quietly as if understanding that he shouldn't question him on where he was any longer. "And what is Sakura doing here on a Saturday morning in her uniform?"

"I asked her to pose as my model for a drawing I'm doing."

The silence was deafing.

_'Did he buy it? Are we off the hook?'_

Itachi let out a sigh and walked away towards his room. "Whatever just don't wake me up for anything. I had a long night."

I don't know where he pulled that excuse from but damn Sasuke was good.

_'And he has good timing too.' _

"Oh, one last thing," Itachi said looking Sasuke die in the eye, "so what were you doing in there?" he asked jabbing his thumb to the guest door.

Sasuke looked in my direction as if wishing I was there to hear that and turned away to face Itachi.

There was silence.

I retreated back into Sasuke's room as Sasuke and Itachi exchanged a few words with each other in private. I was greatful that Sasuke saved my hind but he didn't have to kick me out of the conversation like that. I already heard half of their conversation anyway.

It wouldn't have hurt him to say whatever he had to say with me there, unless…

_'Is there something that he's hiding from me?' _

I pressed my ear against the door, straining to hear what they were saying.

"Stop worrying Itachi. I'm fine."

"That's what you always say Sasuke and then the next thing we know you're having nightmare, panic attacks or worse you start lashing out. All because you went into that room." Itachi stated calmly.

"Yeah right!" Sasuke exclaimed, "Why don't you cry me a river while you're at it. I know you're only saying that because you don't want to get in trouble with mom and dad. I'm okay now, I can handle it now."

I could hear the clicking of the gears as the door knob was being turned.

_'Crap, it's the fuzz!'_

Like any other person, who was easdropping and didn't want to be found out, I backed away from the door and tried to look natural. I dived for the bed , sitting on it with my legs crossed, hands supporting my body as I leaned back looking up at the ceiling like it had something of interest up there.

There was no more movement after I heard the twist of the doorknob, which meant I moved away for nothing.

_'And sat still for nothing.'_

"I could deal." Sasuke said as he pushed the door open and enter. His face said so much more then what he wanted to say.

_'Kind of like the knight in the story…'_

Thinking about the story made me realize something, I didn't remember what Naruto's mother told us after she read that story.

Sasuke closed the door and stood there for a while before he ran his hand thought his hair and plopped himself next to me on the bed. He looked tired.

"Thanks for the save back there, Chicken Butt."

"No problem." Sasuke sighed.

I proceed to get up from bed as I said, "Well I should probably get going now."

"Sakura." Sasuke called my name causing me to stop what I was doing, to stop whatever I was thinking. I automatically sat back down. I didn't know what to say and Sasuke definitely didn't want to say anything about it, whatever _it_ was.

_'Could whatever is in that room be so bad?'_

Nothing's ever as bad as it seems. We only think that way because we choose to handle it on our own instead of telling people what's wrong. The person who taught me that was the same person who told Ino to get me from class so I would be all alone on that rainy day and he was the same person who saves me whenever I'm in trouble.

_'It was you Sasuke, so let me do the same for you!'_

Sasuke looked at me and the look he gave me told me that I had one of my moments where I say something that wasn't meant to be said aloud. The sad thing about these moments it that I don't know what I said and what I didn't say.

"Whatever I just said, just-" I was cut off.

"I appreciate what you said so I can't disregard it Sakura." He said softly, still looking me in the eye.

I was stunned by what Sasuke said. It was so out of his character to say such a thing, so kind, so gentle. Normally he would remark, 'Mind your own business.', whenever something happened that he didn't want to talk about or deal with. Just the fact that he said that to me… It meant so much.

I smiled at him.

Sasuke averted his gaze elsewhere as he said, "I don't know what you're so smiley about because I'm not gonna tell you."

My smile grew, teeth in full view. "I know."

Sasuke stretched for the sketch pad that was behind him and flipped it to a fresh clean page. Still he refused to show me his face. "Well we probably should get started on that portrait."

"You were serious about the art thing?" I questioned, not believing that Sasuke was telling the true to Itachi.

" Che." Sasuke scoffed, "No, I finished assignment already, but on the off chance that Itachi walks in or if my parents or Itachi ask to see the piece, I should have proof."

And that's how I spent most of my Saturday, staying still so I could be draw. It was like a scene from the Titanic only difference was that I had my clothes on and the guy drawing me was looking at me like I was a specimen and not with love in his gorgeous eyes.

By the time Monday came rolling in, I was back to my semi normal self. My fake happy bubbly self. On the inside I felt like crap. The events of Friday still haunted me all weekend but luckily my parent didn't know anything about it and personally I preferred it that way. The less they knew about what I've been up to lately, the better.

_'I want to bury that day in the deepest darkest part of my brain and throw away the key._'

There was no sign of the people I had been avoiding for the past two days, Hisashi, Karin, Jugo and Suigestu and Sasuke made sure to be close by in case I needed him. Of course he played it off as if he just happened to be in the area at the time and that he didn't care what I did because it was as he said 'None of his business.'

_'That boy really is something else. He's always hiding behind that ice cold mask of his.'_

Sometimes I really did wish that he would lighten up and act like a carefree teen instead of like what he acts like now, a person with a stick up their ass. But Sasuke is Sasuke and I know that he tries his best, in his own way to let his precious people know that he cares about them.

"There you are Sakura!" Someone screamed as they opened the classroom door.

Standing there was no other than the three out of the four people I was avoiding.

"Hi." I said sharply.

Karin and Suigetsu strolled into the almost empty classroom, leaving the door gapping open.

"Hey!" Karin said happily.

"Hi Sakura. Sasuke." Suigetsu nodded.

"Hn." Sasuke replied.

That's right, Sasuke was eating lunch with me or as he claimed 'I didn't feel like getting up to go eat in the cafeteria.'

Jugo, who was the last to enter the room, closed the door, like a good child because he knew that that's how they met it.

_'You always know the people who live in a cave from the people who actually know what a door is for.' _

"So what's new?" Jugo asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know, you tell me. Did anything special happen after you left me on Friday?"

"Aw come on Sakura! Don't be like that, that's all behind us now." Suigetsu stated.

"That happened three days ago. Do you think I would really forgive you guys that easily after you flat out left me." I responded angrily, glaring at them.

"Oh please. Don't make it sound like you were Miss Defenseless. I saw you hanging out with Hisashi and doing a little more than just that." Karin pointed out with a smug look that said she had me right where she wanted me.

I would have said that she did catch me red hand if that's how things played out, which they didn't but Sasuke didn't know that.

A chair scratched against the floor and Sasuke stood up. I looked at him, unsure of what to say, after all I am the one that didn't tell him the whole story as well as I didn't want to make it look like Karin was right about what she just said, which she wasn't.

"He doesn't know that you were with him at the club?" Karin questioned in disbelieve.

"I think I should go now and let you finish this conversation in private." Sasuke said as he walked off.

"Sasuke…" my voice died in my throat as he shut the door.

_SLAM! _

"Wait so let me get this right, he came to pick you up and he didn't know that you were with your boyfriend earlier that night?" Karin paused. "This is priceless!"

I could feel tears swelling up in my eyes, threating to fall because of the predicament I placed myself in.

"Karin, I think you should stop now." Jugo said more like a command then a request.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because she's crying." Suigetsu finally spoke up.

"It's not what you think Karin, we're not like that. Hisashi is not my boyfriend. He only said that and kissed me on my forehead to get Haku to leave me alone." I said with all the strength I could muster.

_"Oh." _Was all she could say.

I was mad at Karin but I really had no one to blame but myself. If I had just told Sasuke none of this would have happen. He would still be sitting in this room with me pretending that he was here because of laziness and not to watch me, to protect me. Now I was stuck here with them but not for long.

I bolted. I let my legs carry me to the place that made me feel safe, the one place in the school where no one could see me. The door was open, no surprise there and I walked on to the rooftop. I always seemed to come back here. I came here when I first returned back to school after Naruto died, I come here when I needed to think and I come here when I need to just get away.

Jugo knew better than to have Karin and Suigetsu come up here now or so I hoped. But after hearing him tell Karin to stop, I think he got the message.

_'Not to mention the fact that I was crying and ran out of the room._'

I walked toward the railing, looking over it at the people that looked to be the size of ants. I loved it up here. It gave me a sense of comfort knowing that I separate myself from the herd and could easily fit back in by joining them on the ground.

I knew I was lying to myself. I could only act like I belonged down there. The truth was that I was meant to be up here, to be alone.

_'Doesn't he go to school?'_

Standing there among the crowd was Hisashi. It wasn't hard to spot the thing that didn't belong in the crowd. He was the only one not wearing the school uniform. I stared at him as he turned his head this way and that.

_'He must be feeling the same way I'm feeling, lost.'_

But how could he be? He carried himself to be in his own class. If he tried to blend in like me, he would only be killing himself.

_'Just like how I'm killing me.'_

Hisashi's head snapped up and looked straight at me. I was like a deer in the headlights, I froze. He didn't move and neither did I. I couldn't because I knew he must have heard what pitiful thoughts I was having even though I was up so high. My thoughts, they must have fallen and hit him on the head.

_Riiiing!_

I ran to my next class, feeling foolish for being like that, for letting that happen. I had thoughts about Naruto, jumping and meeting Naruto. If Hisashi wasn't there, I would have been down there, splatter on the ground.

Sasuke was in class and he even sat next to me though he didn't have to and he didn't say a single word to me but I knew that he had somewhat forgave me because when I began to sob silently he put his arm around my shoulder and patted my back.

_'I'm such a fool just like the knight. I should have talked of the princess.'_

**_To Be Continued…_**

* * *

**_I have a question for you guys. would you like me to do a one shot of the story mentioned in this chapter, The Kinght and The Princess? If you do please leave a review letting my know. Based off of the resons I get I'll write it. the story will be a (as usual) SakuSasu._**

**_Until next time people._**

**_Ja ne Mina! _**


	10. Crusher

**Yola Mina! December is finally here! Hooray! I don't even know what to say.**

**Oh heck, here's an early gift!**

**Chapter 10**

**Crusher**

After school Sasuke drove me home. There was nothing said throughout the whole ride.

_'I really thought that he forgave me earlier but it look like he just felt sorry for me.'_

We pulled up in front of my house but I dared not move as Sasuke shut off his car engine with the twist of his key.

"Is there any special reason why you left out that detail?" Sasuke asked with so much venom that I knew he didn't even want to breath Hisashi's name.

"It's not what you think!" I exclaimed looking at his face which was filled with an emotion I've seen him wear but couldn't define.

He raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Oh really now, then what was it?"

I told him everything this time, from when I read the danger sign to when Itachi caught me coming out of his room. Sasuke sat there quietly during that whole time as I waved my hands and told my story. I felt as if a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders.

_'Could it have been because I felt bad for keeping it away from Sasuke or could it be I trusted him?'_

Sasuke was silent.

I was silent.

"You should have told me Sakura. " He said softly, looking at the steering wheel, hands still on it.

I stretched my hand out to touch his own. I felt like a horrible person for hiding the truth from him.

"Sasuke I-"

"You should get inside before it rains." He said as a dismissal.

As soon as I got out of the car, Sasuke drove off without another word. I didn't know if it was because I was so relieved or what but I had no hard feelings about what he just did because…

_'Because I know he doesn't know any other way to deal with it.' _

I had taken care of one of my problems and there was an instant need to fix the others. The feeling of being free of one of my burdens was overwhelming and I knew just which burden I had to get rid of next.

Whether I wanted to admit it or not, I did care about what happened yesterday between Hisashi and I. Something had to be done, it had to be fixed.

_'Or else I'll lose him again.'_

"Wait, what was I thinking? He's not Naruto!" I exclaimed as I shut the front door of my house.

I decided that it was time to mend our fragile friendship, so here I was, standing in front of Yahiko's house in a pair of jeans and a hoodie, body soaking wet as I didn't see the purpose earlier of grabbing an umbrella before leaving the house.

_'Why is it that it always rains when something happens or is going to happen?'_

I gave the door a few quick knocks in fear that if I left my hand on the door it would fall over. I was greeted by Hinata who looked at me as if I was a beggar darkening her door step. Nothing gave her the right to look at me that way especially since this wasn't her house and she didn't live there.

"What are you doing here?" she ask with so much disgust that it sounded like she was a guard dog, growling at me.

"I came to have a word with Hisashi." I answered calmly even though I was pissed off at how she answered the door.

"He's not here." She replied before closing the door in my face.

_SLAM!_

_'The nerve of her!'_

I knocked on the door once again, waiting for her to open the door and sure enough, she did.

"What?" she barked.

"Where's Hisashi?" I asked with my arms folded, annoyance echoing as I asked.

"I told you already. He's. Not. Here." She said through gridded teeth as she proceeded to shut the door but this time I wasn't having it.

I put my foot in the door way, stopping it from closing. I used my hands to wrench the door back open.

"I know that but what I asked, if you weren't so busy being a bitch, is where is he?" I asked hotty, not giving two flying squirrels about holding my temper.

"I-" Hinata stopped mid-sentence.

Normally when someone stops talking in the middle of saying something, it's because either someone or something cut them off or because they changed their mind about what they were going to say. But I knew for a fact that neither of the two were the case as I didn't say or hear anything that stopped her from talking and Hinata didn't have any reason to change her mind about saying anything to me.

The reason for Hinata, who suddenly stopped talking, was the same reason why I was here in the first place. It was Hisashi.

_'Oh my God!' _

My mind wouldn't process what I was seeing or maybe my mind couldn't keep up with my eyes.

Hisashi appeared by the door way, his lower body hidden behind the wall. Sweat dripping from his shirtless body, his face red from the heat emulating from his body. It was only then that I noticed what Hinata was wearing, which wasn't much. I was so absorbed in finding Hisashi that I failed to notice Hinata was sassing at me in nothing but a familiar jersey that clearly wasn't hers. Her face was tinted pink and her hair was suffering from a serious case of bed head…just like Hisashi…

_'Oh my God!' _

Once again it dawned on me, the pieces were coming together. The red faces, hazed eyes, the sweat, a shirtless Hisashi and a Hinata in a over sized jersey… They…

"I'll be out in a minute George." Hisashi stated as he shut the door.

_'were having sex.'_

The need to mend Hisashi and I's fragile friendship extinguished like a flame left out in the snow. I felt cold, oh so cold. The air around me had lost all its warmth and each breath I took, the cold air stabbed at my throat. This shouldn't have affected me so much to the point where I was shivering. It didn't make sense!

_Creek._

The door creeked open and was shut quickly. I felt my arm being pulled in a direction but the cold absorbed me to a point where I had to close my eyes…

"Sakura-chan wake up! Stay with me!" I heard Naruto saying but then the voice changed and the words were different.

"Oi,George you gotta stay awake okay?"

I opened my eyes and the eyes looking back at me were not sky blue but moss green with blue seeping though.

"Hisashi?" I asked in whisper, my throat feeling raw.

"Look I have some clothes in a bag in the back, you could change in that instead of staying in those wet clothes."

At first I had no idea what he was talking about or where we were for that matter. All I knew was that I was in a warm place sitting in soaking wet clothes. But the more I focused on what was going on around me, the more I realized where I was.

I was in the passenger seat of a car and Hisashi was driving. To where? I had no idea.

"Sakura, hurry up and change before you close your eyes this time and really don't wake up." He explained as he put the bag on my lap.

The duffle bag was like a first aid kit, heavily stocked for almost any emergency. There was deodorant, clothes, a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, extra clothes, shampoo and conditioner, socks, colon and a pair of sneakers.

_'Wow, it just like the shit happens bag I have in school except better.'_

I pulled out a shirt and a pants. I was hesitant to remove my clothes and put his on for two reasons. The first was that Hisashi would see my underwear and bra and I was not comfortable with that. The second was that after seeing Hinata in his jersey, how would I know these clothes were…safe?

_'Or clean for that matter.'_

My shivering body obviously didn't care about any of this as it just wanted to retain heat again but I'd rather freeze to death then wear dirty clothes.

"What are you doing? Hurry up!"

"Is it really okay for me to wear these?" I questioned.

"I told you to put it on didn't I?"

"But what about Hinata?"

He raised an eyebrow, "What does she have to do with wearing my clothes?"

"Well…um," I stuttered, "She was wearing your shirt just now so I thought…" I trailed off.

"Oh." He finally caught on to what I was talking about and chuckled. "We're not together."

"But she was wearing your shirt and didn't you two…you know." I stated pointedly.

He stopped the car at the red light and looked at me with a serious expression. "Yes, we did but it's not like that."

"Oh" was all I could say as a response to that.

It was all too shocking really.

_'They did the deed but they're not together?'_

"Just hurry up and change." The car went back in motion. "And don't worry, I won't look."

Changing in the car with Hisashi was very uncomfortable. Just having my Dad see me in a towel coming out of the bathroom was uncomfortable. There was no way I could change my clothes with a boy sitting right there.

_'I'm sure it was no problem for Hinata.'_

Just the thought left a bitter taste in my mouth. It must have been easy for her to undress in front of him and to…sleep with him even though he wasn't her boyfriend. But I couldn't do that because…

_'I never did anything like that.'_

I'm the girl that guys would think is boring, that is a plain Jane because I wasn't slutty, trashy, because I wasn't easy. I'm a girl who believed in waiting, in respecting one's self. I looked over at Hisashi to see if he was peeping and sure enough, true to his word, he wasn't looking.

_'I'm not the kind of girl that Hisashi would even want to look at.'_

Rage filled my veins and I could feel myself changing into the girls I loathed. I kicked off my shoes and began to remove my jeans. Then I stripped my upper body of the sweat shirt that protected my bra and bare skin from being seen. All I was left in was a pink panty and a black bra.

_'Of all the days for me not to match. Wait, what was I thinking? This was so not like me to care about what boys thinking of me.'_

I throw Hisashi's shirt over my head to cover my exposed body before he had a chance to fall into the temptation of looking. I pushed my legs into the holes of the pants as fast as I could so that my bare legs wouldn't touch the seat anymore.

Oh how I missed the feeling of clothes covering my body from the world's view for those brief seconds. Everything felt right in the world now that I had them on. I'm fingers felt clammy. It was a if I had just got out of the pool and put on dry clothes.

A towel appeared on my head, blocking my vision of the road before me. I pulled it off to look at the only person who could have done it.

"Dry your hair before you caught a head cold." Hisashi commanded, eyes not leaving the road.

I cracked a smile at Hisashi's kindness. He sure had a way of showing that he cared even though his tough guy mask was still on. Suddenly I didn't feel as bad as I did before. My need to mend our friendship was back.

"Why don't you take a picture, it'll last longer."

And the need was flushed down the toilet.

"Why is is that you always have to do that?" I snapped.

"Do what?"

"Ruin the moment." I shot back.

"What moment? The one where you were smiling at me like a pedo or the one where you looking at me as you strip off your clothes?"

"You know what? You're the pedo and I have had enough of you! All I came over to do was apologize about yesterday and go home but no. Instead I ended up getting soaked in the rain only to discover things I didn't need to know!" I exclaimed.

I could feel water flowing out of my eyes and down my cheeks, my breathes started and stopped in small burst and to make matters worse, the clothes I was wearing weren't mine. I was a hot mess, emphasis on the 'mess'. For the rest of the ride, in a car I didn't know Hisashi had, I remained slient.

Thought it was killing me on the inside to know whose car this was and where we were going, I opt to only say, "Stop the car."

Hisashi paid me no mind and continued driving.

"I said stop the car!" I yelled.

"No." was all he said.

I couldn't take it anymore. Being so close to him at the moment was too much. Everything I saw at Yahiko's was too much.

I was breaking again.

"Stop the car! Let me out of this car this instant Hisashi!" I screamed with all my might.

"Why don't you want to be near me Sakura?" he asked calmly or was it something else?

It didn't matter. I didn't care how he sounded even if I think it was sadness I heard in his voice.

_'That sounded so much like Naruto's just now.' _

I chose to focus on the question that was asked instead of the ghost of my past. "Because I can't be near you anymore. "

"Why not?"

"It…it does_ things_ to me. You make me rememb-" I couldn't finish it. I _refused_ to finish it.

Hisashi didn't ask me anything else and I didn't ask him to stop the car. Before we knew it, we pulled up in front of my house and from the looks of it, my workaholics of parents still weren't home. I got out the car without a word.

"I need my clothes for a match I have in the next hour." Hisashi stated as he turned off the engine.

I stepped out of the car and walked away quickly, itching to get into my house, where things made sense, where I knew my place and my feelings.

I peeled Hisashi's clothes off of my body, stripping it away like it was sheding snake skin, like the unwanted clothes that they were. I wanted to believe that that's how I felt about his clothes, so it wouldn't hurt, to give it back, to remember what happened between Hisashi and Hinata.

_'To forget whatever it is I'm feeling.'_

"If only you were here Naruto. " I sigh and fiddled with my necklace. "I would know what to do."

The walk to Hisashi's car was the most dreadful walk, no, the second most dreadful walk that I ever had to experienced in my life so far. I didn't even want to think about the first one, the walk to _his _coffin. The only thing that was keeping me together was a single phrase.

'Look on the bright side Sakura, things can't get any worse.'

Low and behold, that things did get worse because stand in front of his car was Hisashi and standing in front of him, was Sasuke.

I could feel the air getting thicker as I approached the two brewing boys. My feet seemed to get heavier with each step I took, causing me to walk slower and slower the closer I got. The two of them looked to be having a heated conversation as they were too busy to notice little old me traipsing by. I thought I was going to get away by simply putting the clothes in his car and walking away, but today just wasn't my luckily day.

"And where do you think your going Pinky?" Sasuke questioned.

_'Busted.'_

"Hey Chicken Butt, didn't see you there." I greeted, trying not to sound as nervous as I felt.

Sasuke looked at me suspiciously, his onyx eyes showing me that he saw through my little white lie, then they traveled down south to my hands that were clucking the clothes I had just took off, inspecting them curiously.

"Whose clothes are those?" Sasuke asked.

_'What am I suppose to say?'_

I couldn't tell him that they were Hisashi clothes, that would cause Sasuke to think I was lying when I said Hisashi wasn't my boyfriend! I could lie to Sasuke either because I didn't want to have to go through what happened earlier in the car. I had no choice but to tell him the truth.

I took a deep breath. "-"

"There my clothes." Hisashi stated before I could say anything.

"Why do you have his clothes Sakura?" Sasuke questioned darkly.

I was scared to answer. Not because of the question but because of the way he said it with such anger. My name even sounded foreign in the tone he used.

"Her clothes were soaked so I lent her mine." Hisashi stated for me.

"Why do you keep answering for her? She could speak for herself." He glared and then turned his head to look at me, eyes softening, pleading for the truth.

"It's true Sasuke." I answer with as much conviction I could muster. "Hisashi lent me his clothes because mine were soak from walking in the rain and then he gave me a drive home. Nothing else happened."

"…" Sasuke had nothing to say, or maybe it is that he didn't know _what_ to say.

"Look I would love to stay and finish see how this lovers' quarrel panes out but I got places to be and money to make." Hisashi said as his closing statement before walking towards the driver's side of the car.

"Remember what I told you and stay away from her Hisashi." Sasuke said darkly.

Hisashi stopped in his tracks and looked at me and smirked, " I've tried." And then he got into his car and drove off.

It didn't take much to know that the 'she' Sasuke was referring to was me. What I wanted to know was what did I have to do with their conversation and I wanted to know now.

"Sasuke, what was that all about?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that Sakura?"

_'There he goes, saying my name like that again.'_

My heart was beating irregularly.

"I told you already. Now what the heck were you two talking about?"

"We were talking about nothing you need to worry about." Sasuke answered with a sharp tongue.

"Yeah right. Just tell me what I had to do with it." Was my quick responds to his vague answer.

"What are you talking about, we weren't talking about you."

"Don't lie to me Sasuke." I said softly. "Just tell me the truth."

Sasuke walked closer to me and put his hands on both sides of my face.

"If I tell you the truth, you wouldn't like me for it Sakura. You can't handle it." He said as he searched my eyes for something.

"Yes I can." I said, standing my ground as I kept my eyes on his.

The more I looked into them, the more I couldn't stop myself from getting lost in those bottomless pits. They looked so pretty, like shiny marbles. I could feel Sasuke moving closer to me but I dared not look away from his eyes that had me in a trance.

_'Is he gonna kiss me again? I really hope he would...'_

No! No! No! No! I wanted to scream but I couldn't move, it was to late. Any time now Sasuke would kiss me again and I would betray Naruto again. I closed my eyes waiting for the soft feeling of flesh pressed against my lips.

"See, you can't handle the truth yet." Sasuke whispered in my ear.

My voice hitched as I tried to find words to say in my defense. It was like my mind was a well without water, without a thought. It was as blank as my facial expression. Of course it started to rain again and of course my clothes got wet again but this time it wasn't my fault, I was still in shock thanks to Sasuke.

"Better get you out of the rain." Sasuke said as he led me into the house.

Sasuke seemed to have vanished into thin air and reappear with a towel in his hand, out stretched to me. I looked from him to the towel, trying to connect the dots. When I didn't take it, he threw it over my head and rubbed the water out of my hair.

"Must I do everything." He sighed.

I sat in silence as I let Sasuke dry my hair. There was nothing I could think of to say to him. My emotions were in too much of a frenzy for me to form a proper and complete thought.

_'I should- but what if- could he-'_

"I wasn't going to kiss you." Sasuke blurted out into the dead silence.

I looked from my fingers that were playing with the necklace around my neck to Sasuke's face, only he had a small towel covering it as he dried his hair.

"I know that you can't see me that way, that you don't…care about me that way and that's okay. I don't want to cause you any more pain than what you've already been through. "

At last I could think straight but all I could say was "Sasuke.." in a quiet voice.

But he heard me and looked at me, eyes gleaming from under the towel. "Please don't say my name like that Pinky…telling you this is hard enough as it is. " he paused. "I care about you so much and I want you to know that you're a very important person to me and you know I don't have a lot of people who are and I'm not about to lose any of them because of my own selfishness."

I wanted to prove him wrong, that I didn't not want him to kiss me, that I did care about him a lot more than I should but I couldn't because I still loved Naruto.

"Sasuke…I…" I didn't know what to say.

He rubbed the towel against his face before removing it from his head.

He smiled and said to me, "You don't have to say anything." He stood and walked towards the window to see if the weather outside had changed. "Well I should probably get going while the rain eased up a bit."

I knew his smile was false after so much months of having to put one on my own face and that it was still rain bullets as I could hear the hard drops of water hitting the roof like hail. Sasuke wantedezx to make me feel better but at the same time he wanted to get away from me and that hurt.

_'Was this how Hisashi felt when I told him I couldn't be around him at the time?'_

Oh how cruel fate was being to me at the moment but I didn't care, I had to try.

I walked up to Sasuke and peered out the window myself, ignoring how Sasuke seemed to inch away slightly from me." It's still raining heavy outside. You can stay here a little longer, until the rain stops falling." I stated hoping he would accept the offer.

But my hope was in vain.

"It would be better if I leave now before I can't control myself." He opened the front door. "I'll see you tomorrow. " and left.

I stood by the door,letting the cold breeze in as I wait for the sound of an engine roaring to life, tail light flashing on, painting the wet black ground red and yellow white. But there was none. Sasuke kept on walking further and further into the darkness until he vanished.

**_To Be Continued…_**

* * *

**_This chapter took a lot out of me. I hope you guys liked it and I'm sorry I had to make things a little emotional there. You know the drill, drop and give me twenty! Twenty reviews that is! lol Don't worry I was just kidding but some reviews would be nice._**

**_Until next time people._**

**_Ja ne Mina! _**


	11. Subversion

**Yola Mina! i know I'm very late but this is the first chapter I have uploaded for the year so...**

**Happy New Year!**

**Chapter 11**

**Subversion**

The next couple of days were uneventful; it was as if that night had never happened. Sasuke treated me like he always did and I tried my best to do the same. To everyone, we seemed to be our normal selves but the true was that we did change, just not physically, not in a way people could easily see it.

_'How am I suppose to deal with it?'_

Now that I knew of Sasuke's feelings, it was pretty hard for me to not think about him. Every so often, my eyes would land on the boy seated next to me and every so often Sasuke would catch me looking at him. But it was hard for me not to look at him, I saw him in a different light now. He's no longer the same in my eyes.

_'He's different somehow or is it that I'm different now?'_

"Are you okay Pinky?" the said boy of my thoughts asked me.

I couldn't look at him at that moment as I answered, "Yeah, I'm okay."

I could feel his eyes lingering on me a little longer, as if he doubted my words and wanting to say something about it but instead he said nothing and returned back to writing in his notebook.

I let out a sigh of relief as the bell rang signaling that it was lunch time, that is was time for me to get my thoughts together. I proceeded to gather my books and pencil case to leave as fast as possible but I wasn't fast enough.

"Sakura, we need to talk." Sasuke said to me as soon as I reached by the doorway that separated the classroom from the hallway.

"About what?" I questioned, hoping it wasn't what I thought it was he wanted to talk about.

He gave me a look that I understood at once. "You know."

"Oh." was all I could say.

After I dumped my stuff into my locker, I walked to the designated meeting location, which also happened to be my favorite place on the school compound, the roof.

The wind whipped my hair, blowing it in every direction as I walked toward Sasuke. Sasuke stood by the railing, back facing me, looking down at our school mates who appeared to move like ants to him. The closer I walked to him the more I wanted to run away.

Memories of the last time we were up here by ourselves flooded my mind. If I didn't know any better I would have dropped to the floor and think I was drowning or I would have wailed my arms in the air, trying to swim to the surface. Before I knew it, I had bumped into Sasuke's back. The time to talk had come.

The front of my body that had touched Sasuke was on fire.

I backed away from him, creating distance between us and Sasuke turned around to face me. We were both silent, unsure of what to say, waiting for the next one to say something, staring into each other's eyes.

I opened my mouth to speak first, "What is it you wanted to talk about?"

"You've been acting weird."

"No, I haven't" I lied knowing very damn well I was.

"Sakura, I know you better than you know yourself." Sasuke stated, "You've been acting weird. Ever since I told you…how I feel ,you've returned to your former self. You just exist. You don't talk to anyone much, you move away from people who care about you, you don't even eat lunch with us, your friends, me." He eyes saddened. "I shouldn't have said anything."

I told a step forward, unable to say anything because I didn't know what to say.

Sasuke took a step back" Maybe Itachi should drop and pick you up from school for a while and I could switch seat with Ino or something, it's not like the teachers will care…" Sasuke trailed on.

_'He doesn't want to be near me anymore.' _

For once the roles were in reverse. I, the person who once wanted to have nothing to do with people after Naruto's death because I didn't want to face losing anyone again, was trying to get close to someone.

_'I'm a hypocrite.'_

"Sasuke I haven't been acting weird because of what you said to me," I lied again "it's because of…something else."

"And what is that?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

The lies were just rolling off of my tongue, one after the other. "I can't tell you." I said as I casted my eyes to the ground and away from his eyes.

" Don't lie to me Sakura. I hate it when you do. I know it's because of me."

"It's not!" I exclaimed trying to convince him as much as I was trying to convince myself.

"Prove it, go out with me."

My heart skipped a beat.

_'Sasuke just asked me out.'_

I was speechless. My heart sped up the more I thought about myself dating Sasuke. The answer to what he just said was on my lips, ready be spoken but at the last minute I saw Naruto's face flash before me and I gripped my necklace.

"No, I can't." I breathed softly.

Sasuke knew exactly why I said no but chose not to give up " than spend the day with me ."

Though I knew I should have said no, instead I chose to say the opposite, just to prove a point to not only Sasuke but also to myself. The one I love is Naruto.

The day was sunny and yet the wind blew a cold breeze. It was Saturday, the day after yesterday, the day that I was to spend with Sasuke. I stood in front of my full length mirror, examining myself for the fifteenth time, checking for any imperfections. The last thing I needed was for Sasuke to make fun of what I was wearing because of some mysterious stain.

_'Who cares what that chicken butt thinks!'_

My reflection in the mirror seem to prove otherwise.

Ding Dong!

"Sakura," my mother called from down stairs, "Sasuke's here!"

"Coming!" I yelled, glancing at myself in the mirror for the last time before leaving my room, which was now a pig sty.

I jogged down the stairs, feet touching the steps lightly, slowing down when I knew I had came into people's sight to make it appear as if I was walking all along. Sasuke was still at the doorway, having a chat with my mother and I knew if my father was wake, he would be doing the same thing. My parents adored Sasuke as much as Sasuke's family adored me.

A couple of months ago, I would have told my parents as I did so many times, that there was nothing to like, much less to adore about that good for nothing but now that I have gotten to see a new side of Sasuke and have gotten to spend more time with him, I can't say that anymore. He's the most reliable person in my live.

_'Who would have thought I would see what my parents did.'_

"Do you have everything you need Sakura?" My mother asked before I walked out the door.

"Yep." I answered shaking my head.

"You might want to bring a jacket Pinky." Said the spiky raven haired boy who himself was wearing a jacket.

" Like I'll need one. It's so bright outside!" I exclaimed gesturing to the sun as I walked out of the front door.

"Are you sure because I don't want that later on in the day you're all like" He cleared his throat, "I'm freezing chicken butt so give me your jacket!" he said in a high hitch voice, trying to mock me but failing terribly.

Sitting outside of my house was not my recently usual ride to school but one I hadn't seen in weeks, Sasuke's motorcycle. I could sense that today Sasuke want to get a lot closer to me then he has wanted to be in weeks as if he wanted to erase the barrier he create to stop his feelings from showing. And it looked like he wanted to remove the wall that I built to stop myself from caring for anyone the way I cared for Naruto.

The ride to where ever we were going was silent, if you could call the wind blowing so hard that we couldn't speak silent. Part of me thought that maybe Sasuke planned it to be this way, so that there wouldn't be any awkwardness between us. So that I could have an excuse to holds on to him and invade his personal space without it having to mean anything.

I could feel Naruto pendent pressing against my chest, as if it was poking me to remind me that it was still there, that my love for Naruto was still there. I held on to Sasuke harder, pulling him closer to me and pushing the pendent deeper into my skin. I closed I eyes as he rode faster.

_'This means nothing.' _

Whenever I come to the amusement park, I always remember when Naruto entered that all you could eat completion and lost horribly and today was no different ever though I was with Sasuke this time and not Naruto. The place was exactly the way I remembered it. The merry go round still had that white horse that was half way painted black and the sign towering over the entrance was just as washed out and worn as it was last year and the year before that and the year before that.

"Why are we here?" I asked suddenly feeling uncomfortable being here.

"It's to have fun Pinky." Sasuke answered with a smile.

Having fun wasn't something I hadn't really done in a long time, it felt like I haven't had fun in eons. Sure I laughed and smile with Sasuke, Ino, Jugo and the rest but I wasn't really having fun.

_'It was to cover up the pain I was feeling.'_

The day wore on as we played games and went on rides. I've never felt more alive than I did now spending time with Sasuke. I felt much better than I had in months!

"Hurry up Sasuke! I want you to win that stuff animal I saw earlier!" I yelled as I ran to the stall.

My blood went cold when I saw who was sitting behind the booth. As usually at first I thought it was Naruto but he was dead, so it could have only been one other person, Hisashi.

" A dollar a try. You get three chances to throw the rings and have them all land over the bottles." he said in a bored tone, not even bothering to look up from the whatever he was reading.

My mouth went dry as I stared at the boy sitting before me. I couldn't even answer Sasuke's call of where I was, all I could do was stare at Hisashi, trying to figure out why he was here, why couldn't I say anything.

_'Why my heart's thumping so fast?'_

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked with so much venom that I was sure I hear him hiss at Hisashi.

"I work here." He answered back just as hotly, "Are you going to pay or not?"

Sasuke slammed the dollar on the table. "Why not..it's gonna be an easy win anyway."

Sasuke stood at the booth for what seemed to be a few minutes before he won me the bear I wanted when in reality it was only a few seconds. But to me it really did feel like I was standing there for a longer time and maybe it was because of the person who handed me the prize Sasuke won for me. I didn't even make eye contact with Hisashi in fear of what it would do to me.

At this point I was happy that we went on the ferris wheel before we came to this booth.

_'Or else things would have gotten awkward real quick.'_

But it looked like I spoke too soon.

I could hear birds above me and the waves crashing against the shore. We were at the beach. After the in counter with Hisashi, I thought that Sasuke was going to take me straight home but instead we ended up here.

Sasuke kick the peg on his bike down and got off before I could say anything. I followed him as he walked to the sandy shore. Part of me wished that I had wore slippers or sandals instead of these stupid heels, that stuck into the sand with every step I took. It was like I was walking in quick sand without sinking in lower as I moved. When I finally reached by Sasuke, he was sitting down with a small notepad in his hands, a small rectangular tin of colored pencils as his side, drawing something I couldn't see.

_'What ever it is, it has green on it.'_

"This was actually the first place that I wanted to carry you." Sasuke stated as his hand glided over different places on the paper.

He continued to sketch.

The sun was close to setting.

"So why didn't you carry me here first?" I wanted to know as I looked at the setting sun.

"Because I didn't want to tell you what's been on my mind so early in the morning so I thought it would be better to tell later or not to tell you at all." He didn't look up at me once as he said that.

"And what is that?" I whispered.

He put down the notepad and looked me in the eyes, the last rays of sunlight reflecting off of his eyes. " You're the most beautiful girl I have ever seen and every time I see you smile, it brings butterflies to my stomach and warms me inside. Ever since last year, the spark in your eyes have vanished and I wonder where's the girl I fell in love with go."

I was speechless.

"You stopped wearing those clips in your hair to hold back your bangs, you don't smiling as much. You distant yourself from everyone to a point where you wouldn't talk unless spoken to. You even stopped hanging out with the gang and whenever I did see you outside of school, you were always sitting in the park, on the bench by the tree, staring into space with a wondrous look on your face."

He raised his hand to my cheek, "I miss you Sakura, the old you. The one that had a twinkle in her eyes that remind me of diamonds." He leaned in closer, "I love you Sakura." and before I knew it, he was kissing me again.

This all was too much for me to handle.

I pushed Sasuke away from me, though part of me didn't want to, and pulled my knees to my body for my head to rest on. "I can't be that girl again Sasuke." I whispered loud enough for the wind to carry my words to him.

"Yes you can, you just have to want it to happen." Sasuke said reassuringly.

"I can't, she's dead! She could never come back to live!" I shouted gripping my arms tighter, making myself smaller. I could feel myself going deeper in to the sand as my body shook from the sobbing I tried to keep back. "His dead and so is she."

I felt something soft being put around me, to prevent me from shivering due to the cold and my crying and at once knew it was Sasuke's doing.

"Can't you see Sakura, I'm not asking you to forget him,all I'm asking is for you to let yourself be happy again, to feel again, to let people in again but it can't happen if you don't want it to." Sasuke said gently as he stoked my hair.

There was no doubt or thought of Sasuke being wrong because he was right, the thing or should I say person stopping me from being happy was not Naruto but me.

_'As long as I hold on to this pain, I'll never move on and begin anew.'_

We stayed as we were, I was still sitting in the fetal position and Sasuke continued to run his hand through my hair as a remind that he was still there. Silence hung in the air, it was like the crashing waves were no longer there, as if the vanished or could it have been they fell on deaf ears.

_'Truly I did love you Naruto with all my heart… but maybe it was time to let someone else into my heart while it's still beating.'_

I looked at Sasuke, " I love you too Sasuke."

**_To Be Continued…_**

* * *

**_I got a review from (that's really the persons pen name) and they had me laughing my ass off because they reminded me of myself when i read fanfics. But have no fear stranger because she did it. Review and tell me what you think about this chapter._**

**_Until next time people._**

**_Ja ne Mina! _**


	12. Bits and Pieces

**Yola Mina! It me again and I'm back with more of the story~ ...okay I'm a little to happy but say what, it's better to be happy than to think about the pile of school work I'm neglecting. Now I made myself depressed by thinking about it**

**Oh! By the way this chapter is deicated to my friend Xadriana Daratrazanoff. I hope you like it!**

**Chapter 12**

**Bits and Pieces**

The next couple of days were different but that was to be expected now that I've said 'I love you' to Sasuke. Everybody around us noticed the difference instantly. Sasuke and I holding hands was a slap to the face for anyone who liked him and it was a tell tale sign that we were together.

_'If only they knew that we're not together but just testing the waters.'_

I was all prepared to be his girlfriend four days ago but Sasuke said he didn't want to be the rebound guy but to be the new boy that I loved. So we decided to take things slow. Thinking back at it now, I was glad that Sasuke suggested the whole thing because the last thing I wanted to do was make Sasuke my rebound guy. It would be an insult to do such a thing to a nice guy like him.

"Pinky are you ready to go, I don't have practice today." Sasuke asked as he approached me with two helmets in his hands.

Since we started 'taking it slow', Sasuke has been driving his motorcycle to school except on the days that the weather looked iffy.

As usual, I sat behind Sasuke, gripping him tightly as he rode down the streets that lead to my house. Holding Sasuke like this, the way I always had when we were going home on his bike, was different somehow. It felt more intimate.

_'Could it be because we're aware of our feelings for each other?'_

I knew the answer already but I still couldn't help but to ask Sasuke.

"Sasuke?"

"Hn?" he answered, eyes glued to the road.

"Now that we're…you know, do you feel any different?" I asked the question that had been on my mind.

Sasuke didn't answer for a while but I didn't expect him to. The answer was a plain as day. It was in the tiny space between us. Or maybe he was thinking about it to place the words he wanted to say in a particular order.

One of Sasuke's hands rested on top of mine as I clinged to him for dear life. "I feel the same way I always have except now that feels a little bit stronger because you feel the same way about me."

My face was beet red.

"Are you insane? Keep both hands on the handles before you lose control or something!" I said burying my face deeper into his back, hiding the blush on my face.

I could feel Sasuke's body shaking slightly as he chuckled, no doubt it was because of my outburst and that he knew I was blushing. "Okay Pinky."

Sasuke's been doing that to me a lot recently, sweeping me off my feet with his sweet words and gentle tone that showed his affection for me as well as his feather light touches. If I didn't know better I would say that he's changing into a different person but he's not, this is the same old Sasuke that I've known my whole life.

_'It's like the more I spend with him, the more I see a different side of him.'_

I closed my eyes and let the wind whip my hair around me as I smiled into Sasuke's back, losing myself in the peaceful atmosphere.

Before I knew it I was home and once again there was no one home to greet me. I walked into the kitchen, looking for the note that I knew would be on the refrigerator.

**Went to the store to get things for the house.**

**-Mom & Dad**

Since last year, this has been my family's way of communication and it was all because I refuse to communicate with them or anyone for that matter. The only person I was willing to talk to was dead and gone. My hand automatically flew to space between my neck and chest, feeling for the thing that could calm me because he couldn't, because Naruto no longer could.

I grabbed my house keys and left, allowing my legs to carry me _**there**_.

From my previous visits to Naruto's grave, I've come to notice that I wasn't the only one who visited him. Sometimes it would be as clean as the first day I laid eyes on it with a bouquet of flowers and other times it would be trashed like it was a rubbish heap for booze, cigarettes and whatever they brought with them to eat that day. Other times I would just find it clean but bare, with no flowers at all. I've always hoped to meet the people or person who came here just like me to see Naruto but I never found out who they were, until today.

The last person on the face of this planet we call earth, that was the least likely person to visit Naruto grave was here, passed on the ground with a half empty bottle of rum in his hand and discard bottles, beer cans and cigarette bud framing his wasted body. It was Minato Uzumaki, Naruto's father.

_'What's he doing here?'_

The last time I checked, he was happy Naruto died in that fire, He sure was boasting about it at the funeral though everyone chose to blame it on his hysteria of losing first his wife and now his only child. But I wasn't going to fool myself like the rest of them, I knew he meant it and wished that he was the one who died in hell's flame. Because that what that fire was, Naruto was already in hell in that house with Minato and the fire just added to his pain.

I was so disgusted by the sight of him that I wanted turn around and leave immediately. I wanted to kick him and punch him and beat him for even showing his face near Naruto's grave. But of course I couldn't do any of those things because I couldn't leave Naruto's grave in the mess it was in and if I did do those things to Minato, he might kill the same way he murdered his son.

I tip toed around the sleeping drunkard and picked up most of the trash that was surrounding him, careful not to touch any part of him, in fear that he would wake up. It wasn't always like this, I never use to avoid Minato like the plague but that was before Kunshina died before he turned to booze and child abuse as his way of grieving. He was once such a care man, someone who I called my second dad but now he's a monster that not even he himself could control.

I knocked something with the back of my foot and froze in my tracks until I heard the can roll behind me, did I let out a sigh of relief.

_'Only one more trip to the trash can and the garbage is gone…well most of it anyway. If he leaves than there'll be no trash left.'_

"Where do you think you're going ?"

".." I didn't know what to say and my body refused to more an inch

"Oh, I remember you!" he said in a slur, "The little turd use to bring you by all the time.' He began to mumble to himself, "Lily, Petal, rose, no that's not it, blossom." trying to remember my name

"It's Sakura." I reminded him.

What made me decide to tell him my name was beyond me.

"Oh, that it!" he pointed or tried to anyway.

He gave a lope side grin with a crazed look in his eyes which didn't make me feel any safer with him. Something had to be wrong with me to still stand here with this man who clear was and will never be in his right mind. But I feared that if I tried to make a run for it now…I wouldn't get very far.

_'I'll have to wait a little while before I do anything.'_

"You knew, Cherry, the house is all fixed up now and you should pass by. Everything is back to the way it was in there. The only thing missing is the little shit but he ain't coming back so it almost the same. If you come to visit than things will kinda be the same. Kushina would like that. She'd want to see you."

"But she's dead." I said with venom, mad about what he was saying about Naruto, what he was asking of me.

"Don't say that!" he yelled, staggering to his feet. "It's his fucking fault I fucking lost her. If he wasn't such a spoiled brat and demanded that she make a cake for dessert then she wouldn't have gotten in that car crash and died.

"And if it wasn't for you, Naruto would still be alive. It's your fault I lost him. Yours!" I shot right back at him, not caring about being careful. I wasn't going to keep walking on egg shell for him, not anymore.

He tilted his head back and did a laugh that sounded more like an evil cackle. "Aha ha ha ha. You think I give a fuck? He deserved to die. It was long overdue. But you know what would have been better, hmm? If he saw you die right before his eyes. Then he would know how it feels to lose the woman you loved."

"How could you say that?" I asked in shock.

_'But why should I be shocked? He is a sick and twisted man.'_

"I should kill you now so that you could meet him in hell and tell him how I gutted you like a fish and left you to bleed out in front of his grave. Would you like that Sakura, to be reunited with that yellow headed piece of shit?" He asked as he pulled out a switch blade.

I took off before he would even take a step closer to me. I head a whistle in the air before I was hit in the back of the head; it was a bottle, a glass bottle. My head began to pound. The more I thought of how to get away from him, the more pain increased. I put my hand to the back of my head, it felt wet. It was blood, my blood.

"You can't out run me Cherry, not with my years of drunken running and that injury of yours." He sound more sober now and that wasn't a go sing for me. The drunker he was, the better. The sober he was, the faster he could run.

I couldn't run to my house, there was no on home and I couldn't run to Sasuke' house or the police station, it was in the opposite direction of where I was head. I needed a safe place to be, where I could get to before I lose too much blood and blank out.

_'Tsunade's house!'_

It was my only hope now. I sped up but I couldn't last long, not with this killer headache. But I did put some distance between us. The more I forced myself to keep moving, the slower I began to move but I was almost there, the house was in sight. A few more steps and I would be home free.

_'Come on Sakura you can make it.'_

"You think that old bitch could help you!" I heard him holler and I knew he was right behind me but for some reason he sounded farther away.

"Tsunade! Tsunade! Open up I'm in trouble!" I banged on the door yelling those words at the top of my lungs.

The door swung open and I was pulled inside, no questions asked as my words and Minato explained enough. Arms were placed around me, comforting me and telling me everything would be alright now, though I didn't know whose, I had a good Idea.

"I'll handle this okay Sakura? Just stay inside." Tsunade cooed as she moved away from me and out the door.

I nodded and then added timidly, "He has a knife."

I stood by the door, watching the whole scene play off, hoping she really could handle it and that everything would turn out okay.

"Get off my property Minato. You're not welcomed here."

"I will as soon as I'm finish dealing with the business I have with Cherry."

"I don't think that she has anything else to discuss with you."

"She's a big girl Tsunade, she can speak for herself."

"That doesn't change the fact that I'm still not letting her anywhere near you."

Minato held up the blade to his face, rubbing it lightly against his cheek and he said, "Then I guess I have no choice."

He moved closer, blade ready to strike in a slashing movement, but this didn't scare her as much as it scared me.

"You're not going to do it Minato." Was all she said.

The knife shook in Minato's hand, wavering just like his final decision until he threw it to the ground in a fit of rage that she was right, he couldn't do it. Tsunade turned her back to Minato shortly after he showed no signs doing anything, walking back toward me and the house.

Minato charged at Tsunade so fast that I didn't even have time to warn her that he was going to attack. He pushed her to the ground where she laid, uninjured but she wouldn't remain that way for long, not with the way Minato was eyeing the Knife that he dropped to the floor earlier.

Something moved passed me and out the door. It was Hisashi. He put his foot on the switch blade and watched Minato as if he was going to do him serious bodily harm.

_'I've never seen so much hatred in someone's eyes before.'_

"Listen because I'm only going to say this once," He took as step closer to Minato, invading his personal space which probably reeked of smoke, booze and vomit. "Get the fuck off my yard and don't let me see your ugly mug again or the next time I won't be able to control myself."

"You don't own me kid and I'll do what the fuck I want when the fuck I want and there is nothing you could do about it and with who I want." Minato said darkly and he smirked and made eye contact with me.

Hisashi grabbed Minato's caller, shaking him up a bit.

"Stay the fuck away from her." He growled, "Or…" I couldn't hear the rest.

It was like the world was losing colour.

I knew even before opening my tired eye lids, what would greet me. I would be in a white walled room, with someone in a white coat towering above my gown covered body, waiting for me to wake up to tell me about my injury.

But I was wrong, I wasn't in a hospital instead I was still in Tsunade's house. I slowly rose into a sitting position on the bed that someone, most likely Hisashi, placed me onto, looking all around to determine which room I was in. By the navy blue sheets on the bed, this had to be Hisashi's room. My head was killing me, the pain was becoming more over bearing than when I was up last.

_'What happened?'_

The last thing I remembered was standing by the door as Hisashi dealt with Minato outside and then the world turning black. I held my knees to my body, replaying the events of this afternoon. Today started off as such a pleasant and joyous day and in a matter of hours, it had turned into a nightmare. The more I thought about today, the more I remembered what Minato said and the expression on everyone's face, the more vivid the scene became, the more it came to life.

It's been so long since Minato had called me by that nickname, Cherry. He hadn't called me that in years, not since the day Kushina died. It hurt to hear the name that she, Kushina had given me out of love being use in such a way, to lure me in and do me harm. It was hard to believe that he still loved her when he made a mockery out of something she often said. I could feel myself starting to break.

I casted Minato out of my mind, refusing to try and understand the man instead I choose to understand what just happened in those last few minutes outside.

As far as I knew Hisashi was a laid back person, who seemed to use violence as a last resort but when he saw Tsunade on the fall, a blade not too far from her and Minato's hand stretching for it… I didn't know what came over him.

_'I didn't even know he was watching.'_

He zoomed past me so fast, I was sure he going to kill him or something along those lines. The anger, the hatred in his eyes appeared to be so much deeper than rage for what happened at that moment. It was like he was angered about all the things that happened to him throughout his life.

_'Maybe his past was coming back to him at that moment.'_

The door opened and in came the person I was just thinking about, carrying a tray of something to my bedside.

"It's nice to see that you're finally awake George."

"Yea…" was all I could say with this headache.

Hisashi sat on the bed and lean closer to me, giving me simple directions so he could put the two painkillers in my mouth for me to swallow with water and lay back down. After a few minutes, my headache was weakening to a point where it was bearable to talk. I could feel Hisashi running his hand through my hair, comforting me. He was being gentle.

_'Why would he want to do that?'_

It was then that I realized that I was crying and Hisashi was trying to get me to stop. I turned to my side, my back facing Hisashi, preventing him from seeing my tears any longer.

"I was so scared. I thought I would die." I stated.

"It's okay. It's over now and you safe and my mom's safe." He replied as he continued to run his hand through my hair.

_'I feel so relaxed.'_

"Where is Tsunade?"

"She went to the police station to file the report on what happened."

As soon as he said police station, my mind ran from police station to Itachi to Sasuke. Sasuke must have gotten wind of what happen by now and was worried sick. I fished out my phone from my pocket and flipped it open. It was already six thirty-five and I had no miss calls, not one. I dialed Sasuke's number which I knew by heart and put it to my ear, waiting for him to answer.

_"Hello, Pinky?"_ Sasuke answered, music blaring in the background.

"Sasuke, could you come pick me up? I'm at Tsunade."

_"Why are you there? What happened?"_ He asked, the noise in the background growing less and less.

"I went to visit Naruto in the cemetery and his dad was there and he…attacked me."

Hisashi stopped running his hand through my hair after I said that.

_"I'm coming now but you have to give a little while, I'm in the next town over with Itachi."_

"Okay."

_"Alright bye."_

"Bye" I said back before closing the phone.

It was silent now that I was off the phone that is until Hasashi decided to end it.

"I could have taken you home you know." He pointed out.

"Yeah I know but I thought Sasuke knew about what happened and was worried so I figured I'll have him pick me up so he could see that I was okay and wouldn't kill me with questions."

There was silence again.

I began to reach for the back of my head, where I knew a scab or stitches would be but there weren't any.

"You got a small cut but it was the knock to the head that did you in." Hisashi explained.

"Oh." Was all I could really say because it explained so much of why I was seeing so much blood, it was because my head wasn't working right and showed the microscopic drop of blood on my finger as being a hand full of blood on my hand. It made me wonder if I had imagined some of the things that happened earlier too.

_'No, the rest was defiantly real.'_

It was getting harder for me to look him in the eye, in the face for that matter! Because every time I did, I remembered the look of anger on it. The anger he's probably held in all his life because of the things that happened to him.

_'Because of the things that happened today, to me, to his mom.'_

"Why?" I asked aloud, finding the strength to look him in the eyes.

"What?" Hasashi questioned.

"Why did you get so mad?"

At once he understood what I was talking about and his eyes darkened. The specks of blue over-powered the green in his eyes, or so it seemed.

"He hurt you and he was going to hurt my mom. I wasn't there when he did this," he touched my head, "but I wasn't going to let him hurt anyone else who's important to me."

"And he won't, Okay?" I hugged him, "Not ever, not like the way he hurt…" I couldn't bear to say it without breaking down .

_'Not like the way he hurt Naruto.'_

Hisashi didn't ask me who I was talking about nor did I tell him. Instead I held him and he held me and we comforted each other on matters that we seemed to be inconsolable by other.

It's funny how just a few days ago we didn't want to be anywhere near each other and now we were as close as we could permitted ourselves to be. Holding each other. I could feel something building up inside of me. Something that I thought I had once lost.

_'If only…'_

I pulled away from Hisashi, banishing the thought from my mind before it could even fully form. And by the way Hisashi's eyes hazed over when he saw me, I knew he was thinking the same thing. But we couldn't, I couldn't. there was still Sasuke to think about and my feelings for Naruto…

"We can't." I said softly.

"What are you talking about?"

"We can't," I repeated gesturing to the space between us, "whatever this is, we can't."

He fell back laughing and then he stopped. "Don't worry there is no," he gestured to the space between us. "I was just lost in my memories."

"And what were your memories about that made you look at me like that?"

_'What made you look at me with such love in your eyes?'_

"I was thinking about a girl I use to know," He paused and then sighed, "but that's in the past now."

It was hard to imagine Hasashi being in love with someone but at the same time it wasn't. By the way he watched me just now, it sure as hell wasn't hard to see that even he could fall in love with someone. The image of Hisashi and Hinata came to mind shortly after.

_'So why was it so hard for me to forget and love again?'_

"Do you still love her?" I wanted to know, no I had to know.

He looked me in the eyes once again, the look in his eyes intensified as he answered, "Yes, and I always will."

"So what happened?" I inquired further, knowing I was headed into dangerous waters.

"Nothing." he shrugged, "We went our separate ways and lead two different lives now." He laughed, "I'm sure if she saw me now, she wouldn't even recognize me."

He didn't sound too please about the thought of them seeing each other again and her not knowing that it was him. But no one would sound happy that their lost love would realize that it was them.

"She would." I stated as if it were a fact and not an option, "People never forget the people that were close, that held special meaning to them."

"Do-" Hisashi was interrupted.

_Ding Dong!_

Whatever he was going to say was lost in that moment and for some reason, I don't think it would ever be brought up again.

"I think that's your guy." Hisashi stood and proceeded to exit the room.

I followed a few steps behind him as if I were his tail or shadow, going where ever he did. By the time I bent the corner, Hisashi had already opened the door. Sasuke moved past him headed straight for me. Sasuke embraced and sighed in relief from what I assumed was because I was safe and sound.

"Oh, thank God you're okay." He said into my hair.

"Yeah, I just have a killer headache and you're squeezing me too tight."

His hold on my loosened and the space between us grew as he looked at my face, hand rubbing my cheek. "Sorry, I'm just glad that you're okay. Let's go home." He smiled at me.

The car ride home was uneventful for me anyway. Sasuke was talking on the phone with Itachi about how something has to be done about Minato. I could've care less about whatever happened to that bastard as long as he wasn't anywhere near me or Naruto's grave.

Sasuke got off the phone and by the look on his face he wasn't happy. I reached for Sasuke's hand and gave it a squeeze.

"It's okay Sasuke. I'm sure that he won't try anything like that again." I reassured him, hoping it would calm him down a bit.

"I just can't stand the fact that I wasn't there to protect you."

"But how could you have known? Not even I knew so don't be so had on yourself. And beside chicken butt, you're making yourself look ugly with all that glaring. "

"Hn." Was he response and knew what I said had worked to calm him down.

I was happy that I had so much people to relay on even the one who you think would have your back anymore surprise you.

_'Like Hisashi.'_

My hand when to my chest gripping my necklace.

_'And even you Naruto.'_

**_To Be Continued…_**

* * *

**_Tada! That's the end of this chapter but don't worry, there's more to come. Keep reading and reviewing._**

**_Until next time people._**

**_Ja ne Mina! _**


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